Fire and Water
by Jacksonator3000
Summary: Rose and Gary were best friends when they were little. But then Gary changed and pushed her away. Will they be reunited during their Pokemon journey? And what is the dark secret Gary is hiding that could lead tot he destruction of both of them? GaryOC
1. Prologue

Prologue

We see a five-year-old girl walking down a neighborhood street. She has short black hair that reaches just above her shoulders. Her eyes are a sparkling blue. Suddenly a boy her age jumps down from a tree in front of her.

The girl jumps back, startled. "Gary!" she exclaims.

The boy grins. "Hey Rose! Wanna play?"

Rose nods. She takes off running with Gary. They reach a hill. They both go tumbling down, laughing. Gary smiles at Rose. "Let me show you something," he says. He grabs her hand and leads her back out onto the street.

They arrive at a huge white building. Gary knocks on the door. Professor Oak answers the door. He beams down at the children. "Why, hello Garry, Rose. What can I do for you?"

"Can we see the fire Pokemon?" Gary asks. Rose gasps and looks at him.

Professor Oak studies them carefully. "Very well. Just be careful. Follow me." The kids follow him around the lab. There is a huge field with hundreds of different Pokemon. Professor Oak points to an area with several Growlithe and Charmanders and their evolved forms.

Rose grins. She runs over to the Pokemon with Gary. They stop at a good distance. Rose looks up in awe as a Charizard flies over her head. She looks at Gary. "Thank you!" She embraces him.

Gary is startled at first, but smiles and returns the hug. "It was nothing. You're my best friend."

Rose smiles at him, her eyes glowing. "You're my best friend too."

"To show we'll always be friends, I got you something," Gary says. He pulls something out of his pocket. It is a small flame pendent on a chain. Rose gasps. Gary smiles as he puts it around her neck. She looks it over admiringly. "You're gonna be a great fire Pokemon trainer one day."

"Thank you," Rose says softly. Gary smiles. She hugs him again. "I love you, Gary."

"I love you too, Rose."


	2. Against All Odds

Chapter 1: Against All Odds

I blinked awake. I grumbled as I turned my alarm clock off. I covered my eyes with my arm to block the light that was coming from my window. A smile slowly spread across my face. Today was the day. Today was the day I was going to start my Pokemon journey.

I jumped out of bed and quickly started getting dressed. I put on a yellow shirt with a Charizard print on it, blue jean capris, and a white baseball cap. I hesitated as I picked up the flame necklace Gary had given me so long ago. Gary… (Dun, dun, dun!)

It had been over three years since it happened. Three years since he changed and pushed me out of his life. You always hear people talk about the pain of romantic relationships breaking up, but what about the pain when friendships fall apart. I've never had a broken heart, but if it feels anything like this, I don't think I ever want to.

I slipped the necklace around my neck like I did every day. I know it seems silly, but I could never bring myself to stop wearing it. Foolishly maybe, part of me was still hoping he would come back to me. I hid the pendent under my shirt. No one could know I was unable to let go. Especially him. And I was sure to see him today. He would be getting his first Pokemon as well.

I ran a brush through my hair a few times before heading out my door. I almost ran into my little sister Alice as I came down the stairs. "Whoa, sorry," I said apologetically, pushing a strand of black hair behind my ear.

Alice just smirked. "You're excited, huh?" she guessed.

I nodded. "Yep! You'll understand in four years."

"I still don't see why you wouldn't prefer to do Pokemon contests," Alice said. "They seem so much more fun than Pokemon battles."

I rolled my eyes. My sister never got battles. "That's Delilah's thing." Delilah had become a close friend of mine ever since Gary abandoned me. We would be traveling together. "Now, if you will excuse me, I've got to get to Professor Oak's lab." I turned and made a break for the door.

"Good luck!" Alice called after me. I waved in response. I was just to the door when my mom intercepted me. I groaned inwardly.

"Honey, don't you want to wait for us? And where's your backpack?"

"You can bring it to me later," I said impatiently. "I have to make sure I get a Charmander!"

"Well, ok," my mom said slowly. "We'll meet you there then."

I nodded and ran out the door. I could feel my adrenaline pumping as I raced towards Professor Oak's lab. A wide grin spread across my face. This was it. I was finally going to become a Pokemon trainer. I had imagined this day since I was very young. And now it was finally here.

I skidded to a halt just outside the lab. What was with the crowd? There had to be at least 50 people gathered there. I shook my headed as I walked the rest of the way to the door. I couldn't think about that now. I had a mission.

"Thanks, Gramps," I heard someone say. I instantly froze. I'd know that voice anywhere. Gary Oak was standing just outside the lab. His grandfather, Professor Oak, was keeping the door open. Gary's head turned and his eyes rested on me. "Well, well, if it isn't little Rosie," he taunted, using my childhood name. But these days he used it not out of affection, but to annoy me. I rolled my eyes in irritation. He smirked. "Out to get a Charmander, I presume."

My eyes narrowed at him. Of course he knew. "You better not have chosen it," I threatened, noticing the Pokeball in his hand.

Gary let out a mocking chuckled. "Oh, no. I chose the _best _Pokemon."

I clenched my teeth. He knew just how to get to me because of all the time he used to spend with me. I never thought I'd regret him knowing me so well. "That, _Gary,_" I spat his name as if it were a poison. "would be a matter of opinion."

"Hmpf." I noticed Professor Oak sigh out of the corner of my eye. He had always liked me. I bet he missed having me around so much. "Not that this hasn't been fun, but I don't want to keep my public waiting," Gary said. He motioned to the crowd. They were all there for him? He smirked at my stunned expression. "See ya later."

My shoulders slumped as he left. I hated how angry he made me. But it was better than being depressed about it. Anger was the only emotion I could control. And in a situation like this, I desperately needed some sort of control.

"You better hurry up if you want to get that Charmander of yours," Professor Oak said, snapping me out of my thought. I nodded dumbly. "Come with me." I followed him into the lab. There was a circular table with three Pokeballs around it. "I think that's the one you want." He pointed to the Pokeball closest to me. I took it and pushed the button. A beautiful orange Charmander appeared on the table before me.

"Charmander!" it exclaimed.

I grinned. "It's so cute!" I reached forward and hugged it. I smiled as I pulled back. "Now all you need is a name. Hmm…" I figured if he was going to be my new friend he should have a real name. "How about Alex?"

"Char!" Alex said in response.

I grinned. "Great!"

"You'll need these too." Professor Oak handed me six Pokeballs and a rectangular object. "This is a Pokedex. It has information on all the known Pokemon. It also serves as your I.D."

"Thanks," I said as I took the objects and placed them on my pocket.

Professor Oak nodded. "Good luck."

I smiled at Alex. "Come on." I picked him up and set him on the floor. Together we headed out of the lab. I groaned at what I saw. Gary was standing in front of the crowd, showing off his new Squirtle. There were these cheerleaders singing this incredibly annoying song.

"_Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, nobody can!_"

It was all too much. I scowled as I stormed over to him, Alex at my heels. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Gary didn't seem fazed by this. "Don't make a fool of yourself," he warned. I scoffed. As if I cared. "If you must know, I'm giving them what they want." He motioned to the crowd and they went wild.

I rolled my eyes. "If your head was any bigger you would be too busy holding it up to be a Pokemon trainer."

Gary cocked his eyebrows. "Is that so? Squirtle, come out!" The blue turtle Pokemon appeared by his side.

"Charmander!" Alex exclaimed. He stepped up to Squirtle and held out his hand. Squirtle shot water at him in response. "Char!" Alex desperately tried to shake the water off.

"Alex!" I cried. I bent down to wipe the water off my Pokemon.

Gary laughed harshly. "See? Water beats fire." The crowd cheered.

I glared at him hatefully. He had no right to do this. Alex wiggled out of my grasp. He opened his mouth and spit out a jet of flames in Gary's direction. "Hey!" he cried as the fire singed his hair. "Squirtle, put it out!" Squirtle shot water at him, making his hair and face dripping wet.

I burst out laughing. He shot me a look. "Serves you right," I said with a smirk.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are?!" a female voice exclaimed. I turned to see Gary's cheerleaders glaring at me.

"You have no right to do that to our Gary!" another one said.

I raised my eyebrows. I didn't think they posed much of a threat to me, but still, it wasn't worth it. "I don't have time for this," I said. I noticed Alice and my parents in the crowd and made my way towards them. Alex followed.

"You'll pay for that!" the last cheerleader cried.

"Girls, just let her go," Gary said calmly. "She's not worth our time." He smirked at me. I glared back up at him.

"That's a nice looking Charmander," my dad said. "Alex is his name, did you say?"

I flushed. He had heard everything. "Y-yeah," I said. I forced a smile. "Alex, return." I held out his Pokeball and he was zapped inside.

"Didn't that guy used to be your friend?" Alice asked, referring to Gary. I nodded. I knew there was no way she could remember. She was only 6. Either Delilah or my parents must have told her. Not that I cared.

"Well, he's certainly-" My mom searched for the right word.

"Arrogant? Pigheaded? A complete jerk?" I offered helpfully.

My mom frowned. She let out a soft sigh. "I just wish I knew what happened to you two."

"So do I, mom, so do I," I said so quietly that no one could hear.

"Rose!"

I smiled as Delilah stepped u next to me. "Hello Delilah," I greeted her. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "I left my parents at my house. They couldn't bear to come."

"Here you are, honey," my mom said as she handed my backpack. I slipped it on my back.

"Thanks mom." I turned to Delilah. "Shall we go?"

She grinned as she nodded. "We shall."

I said goodbye to my family and gave them each a hug. I couldn't help the smile that grew as I walked towards the road with Delilah. The smile faded as we walked past Glary. I shivered at the look he gave me. I returned the look, eyes narrowed, until I had to look ahead to see where I was going. Once we were on the road, I sighed.

Delilah glanced back over her shoulder, and then back at me. "Your encounter with Gary didn't go well." It was a statement, not a question.

I gave her a half-hearted nod. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want her to know all the regret I was feeling right now. "Did you see?"

"Only the last part," she admitted. She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off. I didn't need her sympathy. She frowned. "Just forget about him. You don't need him."

"I know," I said softly. But that doesn't take away the hurt, I argued in my head.

"And there's no chance he'll come back to you, so just think about something else," she continued.

I nodded, but looked away. I didn't want her to see the pain in my face. Part of me knew she was night, but the other part refused to believe it. No, I argued, not impossible. Near impossible, but not impossible. I let my thoughts lead me away as we walked into an open field.

I knew what I was facing. It was against all odds Gary would change. It was against all odds he'd be my friend again. But somehow, I didn't care. As long as there was the slightest chance, I didn't care. I just needed once small chance to hold onto. It would devastate me too much to just give up. No, I had to keep trying. I will face the odds, whatever that took.

"You're being awfully quiet," Delilah commented. "Why don't you try to catch a Pokemon or something?"

I stopped walking and looked around. I noticed a Rattata close by. Perfect. I took out Alex's Pokeball and prepared to make my fist catch.


	3. Chester

Chapter 2: Chester

"No!" I cried as the Pidgey flew out of the grasps of Speedy, my Rattata. "Speedy, return!" The Rattata flew back inside his Pokeball. I hung my head. "What kind of trainer let's a Pidgey get away?"

"Come on, Rose, you knew Speedy didn't stand much of a chance against that Pidgey," Delilah reasoned, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "He's not strong enough yet."

"I knew _that_," I retorted. I stepped away from her. "But I wanted to give Alex a chance to rest."

Delilah let out a heavy sigh. I appreciated her patience with me, but I could tell it was being tried. "You don't have to catch so many Pokemon all at once. You already caught one. Just wait awhile."

"But _Gary _probably has tons of Pokemon by now," I mumbled. Before the words finished coming out of my mouth, I knew I shouldn't have said them.

Delilah rolled her eyes while groaning. "Oh, come on! Forget about Gary for once. You know, you're way too competitive for your own good."

I turned slightly away from her, smirking. Yes, I knew I was very competitive. Gary used to tell me that all the time. Not that he was any better. We would make a competition out of everything; from who could finish their lunch first to a race to the park. But it was always friendly and in the name of fun. I chuckled at the memories. I frowned when reality set back in. So much had changed.

"I think it's my turn to catch a Pokemon," Delilah declared, interrupting my return to the past. I blinked and gave her a small nod. She looked thoughtful as she gazed around the clearing. Her eyes lit up as she saw something. "A Caterpie! I could raise it to a Butterfree. That'd be a great Pokemon to have for contests."

I smiled. Butterfree seemed like her kind of Pokemon. "Go for it," I encouraged.

Delilah nodded. She took out a Pokeball and threw it at the Caterpie. It hit it straight on. The Caterpie was consumed by the Pokeball. Delilah's face broke into a wide grin as the ball stopped moving. She ran over to it and picked it up. "Yes!"

"Congratulations," I said, walking over to her. "Now let's head on. I'll keep a lookout for another Pokemon to catch."

Delilah rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. It didn't take long. I held out my arm to stop Delilah as I saw something rustling in the bush in front of us. It was a Sandshrew! Alex had been resting for a few hours now, so I figured it was safe for him to fight. "Alex, go!" I cried as I released him.

"Charmander!" Alex said happily.

"Ember!" I ordered. Alex shot out a jet of flames at the Sandshrew, but it jumped out of the way. It used Sand Attack. Alex covered his eyes. "Scratch!" Alex ran after the Sandshrew and rakes it across its back. The Sandshrew turned around and used Scratch on Alex. "Scratch again!" Both Pokemon continued to attack each other with Scratch.

Delilah blinked. "This sure is interesting."

I gritted my teeth. This couldn't keep up for long. "Alex, jumped back and use Ember!"

"Char!" Alex cried as he directly hit the Sandshrew with its flames.

"Shrew!" The Sandshrew was thrown back.

Now was my chance. I quickly took out my Pokeball and threw it at the Sandshrew. I waited anxiously as the Pokeball rocked back and forth. I sighed in relief as it turned still. "Yes!" I ran over to the Pokeball and picked it up, pumping it into the air!

"Great job," Delilah said, jogging over to me. "That was fun to watch."

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks." I pushed the button in the middle of the Pokeball to let the Sandshrew out.

"Shrew!" it said.

Now it just needed a name. "Hmm…" I thought about it for a second. "Your name will be Chester."

Delilah blinked. "Chester?" she asked in disbelief.

I frowned. "What's wrong with 'Chester'?"

Delilah chuckled as she slowly shook her head. "Nothing," she said at last. She smiled. "Chester is a good name."

"Char!" Alex walked up to Chester and held out his hand.

"Sandshrew!" Chester smiled and shook Alex's hand.

I smiled warmly at the two Pokemon. "Look, they're friends already."

"Aw, they're so cute," Delilah commented. "Can I hold him?"

I nodded. "As long as he lets you, go ahead."

Delilah smiled as she picked up Chester. "Shrew!" he said happily. Alex walked by my side for awhile.

A half hour later we reached Viridian City. I returned Alex and Chester to their Pokeballs. We walked up to Officer Jenny. "Excuse me," Delilah said.

Officer Jenny turned to us. "Hello. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Rose and this is Delilah," I introduced ourselves. "We're from Pallet Town. Could you please show us where the Pokemon Center is?"

Officer Jenny smiled warmly at us. "Sure, just follow me." She turned and started walking. Delilah and I hurried after her. "You know, I just met a young man from Pallet Town."

Delilah and I exchanged looks. I was fully listening to her now. "Gary Oak?" I guessed.

"That was him," Officer Jenny replied. "You know him then?"

"Yep," I mumbled. How did he beat us? We left before him! I cast my gaze to the ground. I could feel Delilah gazing sympathetically at me.

"Well, here we are," Officer Jenny announced as we stopped. "Just tell me if you need anything else."

"Ok, thanks!" Delilah said as she left.

"Let's go in," I said. I took a step forward and stopped. Gary had just walked out of the Pokemon Center. He smirked when he saw me.

"What took you so long, Rosie?" he sneered. "Out catching a lot of Pokemon I suppose."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Just ignore him and let's go," Delilah whispered beside me. I chose to ignore _her_.

"For your information, I've already caught two Pokemon!" I declared.

Gary's smirk widened. "I've caught three. Looks like you've got some catching up to do." I glowered. I blamed Delilah for not letting me stop whenever I saw a Pokemon. I fought the urge to say 'I told you so.' I couldn't let Gary know I was anticipating this. "Although, at least you caught something, I'll give you that. I'll bet Ash won't have any new Pokemon by the time he gets here.

"And I'll bet you're wrong!" I growled. But I knew he was probably right. Ash was a nice guy, but he wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. But I had to defend my friend in front of Gary. It was the rules.

"We'll see about that." For the first time, Gary looked at Delilah. "It's a pleasure to see you here, Delilah. You're looking lovely today."

Delilah blushed slightly. "T-thank you, Gary," she said. I rolled my eyes.

Gary turned back to me. "You could use some work though, Rosie." I glared at him. Just because I wasn't super girly like Delilah didn't mean I wasn't pretty. He knew that. "Ah, there's my fan club."

Gary's cheerleaders approached us. I wondered where they had been. They started chanting that annoying cheer. I just rolled my eyes again.

"Let's get out of here." Gary squeezed his way in between Delilah and me, deliberately shoving my shoulder with his as he passed.

I forced myself to continuing glaring after his retreating back. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I had to get rid of the tears through anger. I couldn't appear weak.

"Can we go in now?" Delilah asked hesitantly.

I turned on her. "We can go in when I'm good and ready!"

Delilah stepped back with wide eyes, frightened. "Ok, ok. Sorry."

My face softened and I sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Right there was another reason to hate Gary. He made me take out my anger on my friends. I forced a smile. "We can go in now."

I checked in my Pokemon at the Pokemon Center and Delilah and I entered the Pokemon league and Pokemon Contest. We ate at a noodle shop while my Pokemon were being healed. About an hour later, we were on our way again. We had entered the Viridian Forest. The sun was now starting to set.

"We should look for a place to camp out for the night," Delilah suggested.

"Just let me catch one more Pokemon first," I insisted.

Delilah groaned. "_Rose_!"

I grinned. "Just one more!" Delilah muttered something under her breath. I kept my eye out for a Pokemon. It was hard to see because it was getting dark. I noticed I dark lump to the side. I took a cautious step forward to see what it was. I grinned. An Eevee! I quietly took out a Pokeball and released Chester.

"Sandshrew," he said.

The Eevee's ears perked up. "Eevee?" It turned to face us.

"Sand Attack!" I ordered.

"Shrew!" Chester threw sand at the Eevee.

"Now Scratch!" Chester raced forward and scratched the Eevee. It rounded on him and ran towards him for a Tackle. "Defense Curl!" Checkers rolled into a ball. Eevee didn't inflict much damage on him. "Sand Attack and Scratch repeatedly!"

"Sand!" Chester issued a series of attacks. I waited until he stepped away, and then threw a Pokeball at the Eevee. I grinned when I caught it.

"Yes!"

"Great," Delilah said impatiently. "Now can we look for a place to stop?"

"Sure," I agreed. "Right after I name my Eevee." I released the Eevee from its Pokeball. "I'll name you Roxy." I turned to Delilah. "We can set up here."

Delilah nodded. "Alright. This works." I released Alex and Speedy.

A half hour later, our sleeping bags were out and there was a roaring fire. Caterpie and Petals, Delilah's Bulbasaur, were also out. We had just eaten a quick dinner. I took off my flame necklace and reached for my backpack to place it in. I wasn't quick enough.

"What's that?" Delilah asked, curiosity in her voice. "I didn't notice you wearing it."

I froze. Should I tell her the truth or make something up? If I was going to be traveling with her, I might as well be honest. "Gary gave it to me when we were kids," I said reluctantly.

Delilah blinked. "Oh. Why do you still wear it."

I shrugged. "Force of habit?" I hope she wouldn't question me further. Today wasn't my lucky today.

"Why don't you just get rid of it?" Delilah suggested. "It seems like you're holding onto the pain."

I snorted. "I am not! This necklace means nothing to me."

Delilah raised her eyebrows. "Can I see it?" I hesitated before handing it over to her. What could be the harm. "I guess you wouldn't mind if I just chucked it into the forest!" she cried as she threw it as far as she could. I gasped in alarm.

"Sand!" Chester called as he raced forward and grabbed the pendent. I sighed in relief as I took it back from him.

I frowned at the look Delilah was giving me. She shook her head. "It means nothing to you, huh?"

I let out a long sigh. There was no escape now. "You want to know the truth?"

"That would be nice," Delilah said sarcastically.

I sighed again. I didn't look at her as I spoke. My voice came out barely above a whisper. "The truth it, I miss him… a lot. I keep the flame to remember what was… and what shall never be again. I don't want to forget. I _can't_ forget. I want to remember Gary as he was, not how he is now. I loved him, Delilah. I still do. And I don't think anything he could do could ever change that."

Delilah was silent for a moment. Finally, she asked softly, "Here's a crazy idea, why don't you just talk to him and tell him how you feel?"

I let out a harsh laugh. "He's never gave me the chance. It takes two to talk. He can't talk to me without an insult." I sighed. "Nothing will ever change." Delilah placed an arm around my shoulder. I turned into her and hugged her. I never thought it could feel so good to confess all this. It was a relief to have someone else know. It was a relief to finally be comforted. Today was a long day.


	4. Victories

Chapter 3: Victories

My memories entered my dreams that night. I was seven-years-old again. I was standing in front of Gary, a look of disappointment on his face. I cast my gaze down. I couldn't face him. "Look at me," Gary ordered. I slowly lifted my head to meet his eyes. They were full of pain and sorrow. It killed me knowing that I had caused this.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"How could you do this to me, Rose?"

I looked away again, tears forming in my eyes. "I'm sorry," I said again. "It was a mistake. I shouldn't have said that to him, I know." I looked back up at his face. "Please forgive me."

Gary sighed and looked down. "I don't know if I can do that. How can I ever trust you again?"

"I don't know," I said, my voice cracking. "I'm sorry."

I woke up with a start, gasping for breath. I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. The memory felt so real. It was like it had happened yesterday. I was forced to remember what happened after that.

Gary eventually forgave me, but our relationship was never the same after that. He was more distant… and colder. One day he came up to me and said it was over. He couldn't be friends with me anymore. It wasn't working out. Those words pierced me like no physical wound could. After that I ran to Delilah.

"Rose? Is that you?' Delilah's sleepy voice broke my thoughts.

"Y-yeah," I said. My voice was shaking. My memories were too real.

Delilah woke up at this. She turned to me, her face full of concern. "Are you ok?"

I swallowed and forced myself to nod. I tried hard to keep my voice steady. "Yes. It was just a bad dream."

"Char?" Alex touched my side.

I looked down at him and smiled slightly. "I'm ok, Alex." I rubbed his head. I took a deep breath before turning to Delilah. "Let's eat and then go."

We set off soon after, our Pokemon safely back inside their Pokeballs. We hadn't gone far before I heard a rustling in the forest. I held out my arm to stop Delilah. "It might be a Pokemon." She nodded.

All of a sudden something jumped right in front of us. I jumped back in shock. A boy dressed in Medieval clothing was aiming a sword at my throat. I gulped. "I'm Samurai," the boy announced. "Are you two from the town of Pallet?"

"Yes," I said slowly. "I'm Rose and this is my friend Delilah."

"I'd like to battle both of you. Who would like to go first?"

Delilah and I exchanged glances. She stepped forward. "I will."

Samurai nodded. "Good. We will use one Pokemon. Go Pinsir!"

I took out my Pokedex. "Pinsir, the Stage Beetle Pokemon," a robotic voice said. "If it fails to crush the victim in its pincers, it will swing it around and toss it hard. Pinsir has a pair of massive horns Protruding from the surface of these horns are thorns. These thorns are driven deeply into the foe's body when the pincer closes, making it tough for the foe to escape."

"Go Petals!" Delilah declared. Her Bulbasaur appeared before her. "Tackle!"

"Use bind!" Samurai called.

Pinsir caught Petals in its pincers. "Leech seed!" Petals spit out a seed from its bulb. Vines wrapped around Pinsir. Petals managed to wiggle free. "Now use vine whip!" Petals slapped Pinsir with its strong vines. Pinsir was knocked out.

"Pinsir, return!" Samurai said. "You did a great job."

Delilah smiled. "Thanks."

Samurai turned to me. "Now it's your turn." I nodded. "Go Metapod!"

"Alex, let's go!"

"Charmander!" Alex said happily as he appeared.

"Use Scratch!" I ordered.

"Harden!" Samurai countered.

Alex raked Metapod across the side, but it had no effect. "Ember!" Alex shot out a jet of flames that engulfed Metapod.

"Harden again!" Metapod wasn't affected by ember.

I gritted my teeth. "Keep using Ember!"

"Harden!"

The Pokemon were locked in the two attacks. Finally, Metapod gave way. Alex had won. "Return!"

"Awesome job!" Delilah exclaimed.

I grinned. "Thanks."

Samurai walked up to us. "Those were both great battles."

I nodded. "Why did you want to battle us, by the way?"

"I want to battle all the new trainers from Pallet Town," Samurai explained. "I've only got one more to go."

I looked up in interest. "You've battled Gary then?"

Samurai nodded. "Yep. He was amazing too. Well, I'll let you go on your way."

"Thanks!" Delilah said as we walked passed him.

Once we were out of earshot, I looked at her and grinned. "That was awesome! Our first Pokemon victories!"

Delilah smiled and nodded. "I know. Now we have to figure out where we're going to go once we get out of the Viridian Forest. There's a gym in Pewter City, but a contest in Neon City. They're both really close to each other."

I thought it over for a minute. "Once we get out, we should check out when the Pokemon contest is. We'll decide based on that."

Delilah nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

I took out my Pokemon League guide. I flipped to the page that talked about the Pewter City gym leader, Brock. "Hmm… I'll be up against rock Pokemon." I flipped to the Pokemon type chart. "Chester should do. Then I think I'll catch a water Pokemon." I looked up. "Delilah, is there a pond near here?"

Delilah checked her map. "We'll reach water in about a day."

I sighed. A whole day. "Ok, thanks." Well, I guess I could wait. In the meantime I could strengthen up Chester.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. We had reached the pond Delilah told me about yesterday. I ran towards it.

"Rose! Wait up!" Delilah called. She stopped beside me, panting slightly. "Can I please catch a Pokemon first? I only have two. If we can't find any more water Pokemon, I'll let you use it in your gym battle. Please?"

I smiled softly at her. How could I refuse those eyes? "Sure," I agreed. "Go ahead."

Delilah grinned. "Thanks!" We started walking around the perimeter of the pond. All of a sudden, Delilah stopped and gasped. "Look!" It was a Poliwag.

"Go for it," I encouraged.

Delilah nodded. "Petals! Razor Leaf!"

"Bulbasaur!" Petals said. She threw razor sharp leaves at the Poliwag. It dodged out of the way and blue bubbles at Petals. She walked around, dazed. "Growl!" A low growl emitted from Petal's throat. The Poliwag whimpered. "Now Tackle!" Petals ran towards the Poliwag and hit it straight on, sending it flying.

"Catch it now!" I cried.

Delilah took out a Pokeball and threw it at the Poliwag. We both waited as the ball shook back and forth. Finally it stopped. Delilah grinned. "Awesome! I got a Poliwag!"

I smiled. "Congratulations." Delilah nodded. I turned my gaze to the clear blue water. There were many Magikarp swimming around. Suddenly inspiration struck me. "Speedy!" I threw his Pokeball and out came my Rattata. "Get in the water."

"Rattata?"

"Just trust me." I knew what I was doing. Speedy hesitated before wading into the water. "Grab a Magikarp by its tail!"

Delilah gasped. "What do you want a Magikarp for? They're the weakest Pokemon."

I grinned. "But their evolved form Gyarados is pretty awesome." Delilah didn't asked any more questions. She understood. By this time Speedy had grabbed onto a Magikarp and pulled it out of the water. I threw a Pokeball at it to catch it. It went inside. I smiled when it stopped shaking. "Great job, Speedy." I rubbed his head. I turned to Delilah. "I'll have to spend a lot of time training it until we get to Pewter City."

Delilah nodded. "Just like I need to get Caterpie to evolve."

I grinned. "Exactly."

"Free!" Butterfree cried before she fainted.

"You did a good job," Delilah said. "Return."

I grinned at my Gyarados. A week and a half had gone by. We had done a lot of training to get to where we were. "Well, done, Ladon. You can take a rest now."

Delilah walked up to me and held out her hand. "Great battle."

I nodded and shook her hand. "Now, let's get out of this forest!"

We took off running. It didn't take us long to reach the edge of the forest. There was a split road. To the left Pewter City, and the right, Neon City. Delilah flipped through our book. "The Pokemon contest doesn't begin for a few days. Let's go to Pewter City."

I grinned. "So be it." I took off running again. I could feel my first gym battle victory in my grasp!


	5. On Our Way

Chapter 4: On Our Way

I stopped outside of the Pewter City gym. I took a deep breath. I had to admit, I was nervous. "You'll be great," Delilah said beside me.

I nodded and stepped forward. The gym was dark. I saw the gym leader sitting at the far side of the gym. "Hello!" I called. "I'm Rose from Pallet Town! I came here to challenge you!"

Brock, the gym leader, nodded. "Very well." He stepped down from his chair. I jumped back in alarm as a rock floor appeared from either side of the gym. "It'll be two on two."

"Good luck," Delilah whispered.

I smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Geodude!" Brock called. The rock Pokemon appeared.

"Go Chester!"

"Sandshrew!" Chester said happily.

"Chester, Sand Attack!" I cried.

"Geodude, move out of the way!" Geodude easily avoided the sand. "Tackle!"

"Shrew!" Chester cried as he was directly hit by Geodude.

"Use Scratch!" Chester leaped up and scratched Geodude on the side. It had little effect.

"Rock Throw!"

"Defense Curl!" I countered. Chester curled up into a ball. The rocks thrown by Geodude bounced right off him. "Now Poison Sting!" Chester got up and shot darts of poison at Geodude, who cried out in pain.

Brock gritted his teeth. "Tackle again!"

"Dodge it and use Sand Attack!" Chester quickly jumped out of the way. He threw sand at Geodude. "Finish it off with Scratch!" Chester leaped up and hit Geodude hard. Geodude fell to the ground, defeated.

"Geodude!" Brock cried. "Return!"

"Yay!" Delilah exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Once Geodude was away, he took out another Pokeball. "Go Onix!" A huge, rock snake appeared. "Tackle!"

"Dodge it!" But Chester wasn't quick enough. He was hit hard.

"Now Bind!" Onix wrapped around Chester and squeezed him. "Stop!" Onix let go. Chester was defeated.

"Chester, return!"

"Oh no!" Delilah cried.

I knew who I would choose next. This was what I had been waiting for. "Ladon, go!" My Gyarados appeared beside Onix. I had to emit, they looked pretty great together. They were formable opponents. But Ladon had the clear advantage. "Dragon Rage!" Ladon sent a twirling twister of energy straight at Onix. Onix cried out in pain.

"Bind!" Brock ordered. Onix wrapped around Ladon. I smirked. Perfect. I could use the move we had been working on ever since he evolved.

"Hydro Pump!" Ladon blasted Onix with a huge gust of water. Onix let go of him. He stumbled around before falling to the ground.

"Onix, return."

I grinned at Ladon. "Great job! You were awesome!" He growled in response. "You deserve a nice, long rest." He went back inside his Pokeball.

Brock walked up to me. "That was an awesome battle," he said. "You earned this." He held out the Boulder Badge to me. I grinned and took it.

"Thanks!"

"Congratulations!" Delilah exclaimed as she ran over to me and flung her arms around me.

I laughed. "Thanks, Delilah." I smiled. "Now it's your turn." She nodded, a determined look in her eyes. It was off to Neon City.

We spent a day at Neon City. It was nice to just relax for awhile. The next day was the Pokemon Contest. Delilah was the third one to go. I grinned and cheered as she stepped onto the stage.

Delilah threw a Pokeball. Out came Butterfree in a whirl of glitter. "Butterfree, Poison Powder and then Sleep Powder!" she ordered. Butterfree twirled around in circles and sent down sparkling specks of dust.

"Now Gust!" Butterfree send a wave of wind at the specks. The whole stage was glittering now. The judges sure liked it.

"Stun Spore and then quickly Psybeam!" Butterfree shot out jets of poison, and then he sent a beam of energy at them. The spores burst apart, creating an awesome effect. I was quite impressed. Delilah and Butterfree had been working on that move for a long time.

"End with Supersonic!" Butterfree aimed the attack straight up. Light circles and a soft humming noise were heard among the glittering stage. Delilah took a bow and walked off with Butterfree.

I headed backstage to meet her. "That was awesome!" I exclaimed, grinning. And I meant it too.

Delilah smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks. Let's just hope it was good enough."

And sure enough, she was. She hugged hard as soon as she found out she would be advancing to the next round.

It was the final round of the contest. It was Delilah against some boy names Jeff. "Petals!" Delilah cried, releasing her Bulbasaur.

"Nidoran!" Jeff said. A female Nidoran appeared on stage. "Poison Sting!"

"Dodge it and use Vine Whip!" Delilah countered. Petals dodged the poison and aimed her vines at Nidoran.

Jeff winced as she was hit and his points went down. "Double Kick!" Nidoran got up and raced towards Petals.

"Razor Leaf!" Petals was knocked off her feet before she could issue the attack.

"Fury Swipes!" Nidoran started scratching Petals hard. I hoped Delilah had something up her sleeve. She was quickly losing points. She had to do something fast!

"Grab Nidoran with your vines and throw it!"

"Get out of the way!" Jeff warned. He was too late. Petals grabbed Nidoran and threw her across the stage. "Get up and use Tail Whip!" Nidoran ran towards Petals again.

"Stand your ground and use Sleep Powder!" I tensed as Petals didn't move. She shot out powder from her bulb. It hit Nidoran and she instantly fell asleep.

"Nidoran!" Jeff cried. "Wake up!"

"Tackle!" Petals hit Nidoran directly. She slammed into the wall. I grinned. This match was over.

"Time's up!" the announcer called. "And the winner is…" I glanced up at the scoreboard. "Delilah from Pallet Town!"

Delilah's face broke into a huge grin. "I did it? I won!"

"Nidoran, return." Jeff stepped up to her. "Nice job." He held out his hand.

Delilah shook his hand as she said, "You too."

We walked out of Neon City together. Delilah was admiring her new ribbon. "I guess we both got lucky this first time," I joked.

Delilah flashed me a grin. "Definitely! I just hope we do this well the rest of the way."

I nodded. "That'd be great." I stopped at a fork in the road. "So, where are we heading?"

Delilah checked her map. "We can head to either Cerulean City or Celadon City. They're both about the same distance and they both have gyms and contests. You pick."

I shrugged. What did it matter to me? "Cerulean City," I said. It didn't make much of a distance.

Delilah smiled. "Ok. Cerulean City it is."

We hadn't been walking for more than a couple hours before we saw a sign. "Let's see if we're going in the right direction!" I cried as I raced to the sign. Delilah chuckled as she followed. I smiled. Sure enough, the sign read 'Cerulean City This Way.' "Awesome."

Delilah frowned slightly. "What's scribbled at the bottom?"

I blinked. "Let me see." I bent down to get a closer look. I immediately regretted speaking as I read. " 'Gary was here. Ash is a loser.'" I narrowed my eyes. "He was here already," I muttered.

"Well, at least he didn't mention you," Delilah said cautiously. I knew she was trying to keep me from going off. She already detected that much about me.

Somehow, I felt it would be better if Gary _had_ mentioned me. I hated to admit that I wanted his attention, whether it be good or bad. It was pretty sad when I thought about it. I shook my head to clear my head. "Let's go," I said darkly. Delilah sighed before following me down the road.

We slept at the Cerulean City Pokemon Center that night. I would be having my gym battle the next day right before the contest. I wasn't nearly as excited as I should have been.

My memories entered my dreams again that night. I was seven again, and this time I was playing around with Ash. We were both telling stories and joking around.

"So, how was your sleepover with Gary last night?" Ash asked casually. "Sorry I couldn't come."

"You weren't invited," I reminded him. He stuck his tongue out at me. I giggled. "It was fun."

"Find out anything embarrassing about him?"

I smirked. I didn't realize at the time that he was probably joking. "Yes, actually," I said eagerly. "He's got this blanket called 'Boo' that he sleeps with every night." I grinned wickedly. Ash rolled over laughing.

My dream fast-forwarded to Gary coming into the scene. Ash snickered. "Hey Gary, how is Boo?" Ash taunted.

Gary shot me a look. I gulped and looked down.

I woke up with a start again. Like the first time, I had been crying. I took deep breaths to calm myself. I saw Delilah sit up. "I'm ok," I said slowly. "Go back to sleep." She nodded and lay back down. She was too tired to refuse.

Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I stayed awake and let my thoughts take me away. I was mad at myself for being weak. All I had to do to make the pain return was to see his name. And I hated him for doing this to me. For having this strong of an effect on me. I hated everything about this situation. I wished I could just forget. If I could just forget, maybe things would get better. With this thought in mind, I fell asleep again.


	6. Loyalty

Chapter 5: Loyalty

I won at the Cerulean City gym easily with Speedy and Ladon. Delilah, unfortunately, lost at the second round of the contest. She got over it quickly though. She's a really upbeat person. The next day we were off to Saffron City.

On the way, I caught a Meowth and named it Sammy. I battled a trainer that same day, and two the next day. I won the first two, but lost the last one. On the third day out, I was getting a little anxious.

"Are we sure we're going the right way?" I asked. I glanced up at the sky. It was already getting dark. "Shouldn't we have gotten to Saffron City by now?"

Delilah sighed. I was testing her patience again. "Stop complaining," she said with a hint of irritation. "It's taking longer because you keep stopping to battle."

I blinked. That made sense. "Oh. Sorry."

Delilah smirked. "It doesn't matter to me. _You're _the one who wants to get there so fast."

I chuckled lightly. "I'm just excited."

Delilah smiled and nodded. "I know."

I started to look around for a place to stop. "Hey, isn't that a group of kids over there?" I pointed to an open meadow. Two boys and a girl were standing there. One of the boys had a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Yes, it is," Delilah confirmed. I gasped. "Don't even think about it. It's getting too late to travel."

But that wasn't why I reacted the way I did. I recognized one of those trainers! "Hey Ash!" I cried as I raced over to the group. I heard Delilah's footsteps behind me.

"Huh?" Ash turned around to see who was calling him. His face broke into a grin when he saw me. "Rose! I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"I know. It's been, what, two months?"

He nodded. "I think so." He looked behind me at Delilah. "Hey Delilah."

She smiled softly at him. "Hi Ash."

"Oh!" Ash said suddenly. He turned to the boy and girl behind him. "These are my friends, Brock and Misty."

My eyebrows went up in surprise when I noticed the Pewter City gym leader. "What are you doing here, Brock?"

"I decided to travel with Ash and fulfill my dream of becoming the world's greatest Pokemon breeder," Brock explained.

Wow. I didn't see that coming. "Cool." I turned my attention to Misty. "Nice to meet you, Misty. I'm Rose."

"And I'm Delilah," my friend put in.

"Pika!"

I smiled. "Hi Pikachu."

"Hi," Misty said warmly. "How do you two know Ash?"

"We're the other two trainers who started out the same time he did," I explained.

"Gary is the last one," Ash muttered darkly. I shifted uncomfortably and looked away. I focused my gaze on a tree near us. Delilah nudged Ash roughly. "Ow! What did I do?" I rolled my eyes. He could be so oblivious.

After a few seconds, I found it safe to glance back at Ash. My face gave away nothing. "So," I began, a little bit too hesitantly. "How many Pokemon have you got?"

"Three," Ash replied proudly. I have to admit I was a little relieved. At least I was ahead of _someone_. "Besides Pikachu here, I also have Butterfree and Pidgeotto."

"Pika!" Pikachu said.

"I have a Butterfree too!" Delilah chipped in. 'They're so beautiful!"

"I know!" Misty said.

I chuckled, and then turned back to Ash. "I have six. Want to see them?"

Ash grinned. "Sure!" He blinked. "Hold on a second." He turned to his other friend. "Brock, are we spending the night here?"

Brock nodded. "Yes, we can. I'll start setting up."

Ash looked back at me and smiled. "I'll show you mine too. Pidgeotto, Butterfree, come on out!"

"Pikachu." Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder.

I looked over the two flying Pokemon. They were pretty cool. "Ok, come out guys." I released all six of my Pokemon. "This is Alex the Charmander, Speedy the Rattata, Chester the Sandshrew, Roxy the Eevee, Ladon the Gyarados, and Sammy the Meowth."

Ash blinked. "You named all of them?"

I shrugged. "Yep. They're my friends, right?"

"It's my turn!" Delilah exclaimed. She let out her three Pokemon. "Butterfree, Poliwag, and my Bulbasaur, Petals. I only named my starter. I wouldn't be able to keep up with all those names."

"Your Poliwag is so cute!" Misty gushed. "Can I hold it?"

Delilah smiled and nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks." Misty picked up Poliwag and began stroking him. "I'm a water Pokemon trainer."

Delilah grinned. "Cool."

"After the Pokemon League, I'm going to become a fire trainer," I put in.

"I remember you saying that before," Ash said.

"Dinner's ready!" Brock called. We all rushed over. He and Misty also released their Pokemon so they could eat the special food Brock made.

Ash and I chatted all throughout dinner. I forgot how much I enjoyed talking to him. It was nice to be able to talk to one of my guy friends again. I naturally got along with guys better than girls. Delilah was the one exception. But still, I liked being able to talk about something besides fashion and Pokemon contests. Ash was a great guy. And he was _loyal_. It was nice talking to a trainer going for gym badges who _didn't _insult me every time I saw him. Loyalty was key.

My dreams were pleasant that night. They were filled with fire Pokemon. I woke up well rested. I continued to talk with Ash and the others until we reached a fork in the road. On the left there was a sign that read "Saffron City This Way."

"Vermilion City must be the other way," Brock guessed.

Ash nodded. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

I smiled. "See you later, Ash."

I whistled as I skipped along the path with Delilah. She chuckled at my mood. "Having a good morning?" I grinned and nodded.

We arrived in Saffron City not long after lunch. "See? We got here and I didn't battle a single trainer on the way," I said proudly.

"You're friend is holding you down, huh?" a voice asked. I immediately tensed. "You should be stronger than that, Rosie."

I slowly turned to face Gary. He was smirking at me, like always. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Let's go," I mumbled to Delilah. We both tried to silently slip past him.

"Hey, have you seen Ash?" Gary called after me. "What's he been up to?"

If he was anyone else, the question would have been innocent. But I knew better. I turned around. "Like I would tell you. That's none of your business."

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Loyal, huh?"

Delilah placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off. "Yeah, something _you _would know nothing about," I retorted.

Gary glared at me. His harsh look sent chills down my spine. "Are you looking for a battle?" he demanded.

"From you? Bring it on!" It would feel good beating him.

Gary smirked. "Alright. How many Pokemon do you have?"

"Six," I replied icily.

Gary gave a quick nod. "Good. You've done better than I expected." I bit back an angry retort. "It'll be six on six."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Isn't that a lot?"

"Scared?"

I shot him a look. "No way! Six on six it is."

"Rose…" Delilah said warningly. "I don't think this is a good idea."

I ignored her. "You're on."

Gary grinned. "Excellent. Choose your Pokemon."

Delilah sighed. "I guess I'll be the moderator."

I figured I'd better start with my weakest Pokemon. "Sammy, I choose you!" Sammy purred and licked his paw.

Gary looked amused. "A Meowth? Cute. But this isn't a Pokemon contest." I frowned. "Let me show you what a real Pokemon looks like. Doduo!" A two-headed bird appeared. "Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it and use Fury Swipes!" Sammy jumped out of the way just in time. He started scratching Doduo with his sharp claws.

"Peck!" Doduo nipped Sammy right on the neck. Sammy jumped back in pain. "Now use Rage!" Sammy wobbled and almost fell over.

"Growl!" Sammy snarled. Doduo stepped back. "Scratch!" Sammy slashed him with his claw.

"Double Hit!" Gary commanded. Doduo hit Sammy twice. "Finish it off with Fury Attack!" Doduo pecked Sammy repeatedly. He finally fell over, dazed.

"Sammy is unable to battle. Doduo wins," Delilah announced. Gary grinned. I gritted my teeth.

"Go Speedy!" My Rattata appeared before me. "Focus Energy!" Speedy sent a beam of energy at Doduo.

"Dodge it!" The bird Pokemon easily jumped out of the way. "Peck!"

"Bite!" I countered. The two Pokemon were locked around each other's necks. Gary and I both waited to see who would win. Finally, Speedy fainted. "Oh no!" I cried in alarm. Gary grinned victoriously.

"Speedy is unable to battle, so Doduo wins… again," Delilah said, with less enthusiasm this time.

I thought hard about this. I had to choose a new strategy. "Chester!"

"Sandshrew!" Chester said happily.

I grinned. He was ready for battle. "Chester, go underground!"

"Sand!" Chester quickly dug a hole and disappeared into it.

"Feel the vibrations in the ground for it!" Gary instructed. Doduo looked around, waiting. All of a sudden, Chester burst out of the ground underneath Doduo, sending him flying. "No!"

"Now use Rapid Spin!" Chester curled into a ball. He rolled straight into Doduo. Doduo fell to the ground with a thud.

"Doduo is unable to battle. Chester wins. Yay Rose!" Delilah said excitedly.

Gary rolled his eyes. "So much for being impartial," he muttered. He took out another Pokeball. "Magmar!" A large lava Pokemon appeared. I couldn't help but admire it. I loved fire Pokemon after all. "Ember!"

"Dodge it!" Chester jumped out of the way of the flames just in time. "Sand Attack!" Chester threw sand at Magmar, who took the hit.

"Leer!" The attack made Chester fall to the ground. Gary smirked. "Fire Spin!" A swirling tornado of fire hit Chester straight on. He fell to the ground squealing.

"Chester is unable to battle. Magmar wins this round."

"Chester, return!" I knew exactly who to use now. "Ladon, go!" I grinned when my Gyarados roared.

Gary looked surprise. "I have to admit, that's impressive." He smirked. "But let's see if it can battle."

I nodded, eyes narrowed. I'd show him. "Ladon, it's your turn to use Leer!" The attack had the same effect as on Chester. "Now Dragon Rage!"

"Magmar!" Gary cried as his Pokemon was thrown off its feet. "Get up and use Smoke Screen!" The whole area was instantly filled with a thick, black smoke. "Fire Spin!" I hear Ladon cry out as he was hit. "Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge it!"

I didn't hear a cry of pain, so I assumed this was successful. I thought hard. I had to make the smoke disappear. "Twister!" A water tornado was formed. The force of it cleared the smoke. The twister his Magmar. "_Now _use Hydro Pump!" Magmar cried out.

"Magmar is unable to battle. Ladon wins!"

"I guess you have trained it well," Gary said reluctantly. "Let's see if you can handle this. Go Golem!" Golem looked like a huge rock. I was surprised he chose a rock type against a water type. He must have been very confident. "Tackle!"

"Dodge!" Ladon was hit from the side.

"Rock Throw!" Ladon growled as the rocks hit him.

"Twister!" I cried. The tornado appeared again.

"Rollout!" Gary countered. Golem rolled into a ball and managed to avoid the twister. He jumped back up when it disappeared. "Earthquake!" The ground began to shake. Ladon wobbled.

"Get in the air!" For a minute I had forgotten that Gyarados was also a flying type. Ladon hovered over the ground. "Bite!"

"Dodge it!" Golem jumped out of the way, but it was too late.

"Now use Hydro Pump!"

"Rollout!" Golem curled into a ball as Ladon blasted him with water. He didn't seem to be weakening much. Gary smirked at my surprise look. "When you train your Pokemon right, they'll be strong against any type."

I gritted my teeth. This would be tough. "Stop and use Dragon Rage!"

"Dodge it and use Earthquake!" The ground started to shake.

I thought fast. "Knock it over with your tail!" Ladon raised up his tail and hit Golem hard. "Hydro Pump!" This time Ladon was successful. I grinned.

"Golem is unable to battle. Ladon wins!" Delilah cheered

Gary pulled out another Pokeball. He was about to throw it, but stopped. He glanced to the side. "Hey girls. Have a nice time?" I groaned as I saw that the cheerleaders had appeared. They started to chant."Now you can watch me win. Nidorino!" I recognized the purple Pokemon as being similar to the female Nidoran Delilah had fought against. This would be harder. "Horn Attack!"

"Fly into the air!" Ladon flew up just in time.

"Leer!" Ladon instantly fell down. "Now finish it off with Focus Energy!" Ladon was hit with a ball of energy.

"Ladon is unable to battle. Nidorino wins," Delilah said.

"Ladon, return." I only had two Pokemon left. "Better choose… Roxy!" I smiled as Roxy took a fighting stance. "Tackle!"

"Dodge it and use Poison Sting!" Nidorino jumped out of the way. He turned and shot darts of poison at Roxy. "Growl and then Sand Attack!" Roxy repeated the attacks in this order. Nidorino was knocked off his feet for a second.

"Horn Attack!"

"Use Quick Attack!" I countered. Roxy easily slipped out of the way of Nidorino's horn. Then she turned around and struck him with a Tackle. I grinned. "That's the way to do it. Tail Whip!"

"Double Kick!" The two Pokemon struck at one. They both fell back. "Leer!"

"Use Quick Attack again!" Roxy barely managed to get out of the way. "Bite!" Roxy clamped onto Nidorino's tale.

"Try to shake it off!"

"Hold on!" Nidorino furiously tried to throw Roxy off his tail, but to no avail. "Jump up and use Tail Whip!" Roxy leaped into the air and came down on Nidorino with a hard crash. "Now Tackle!" Roxy sent Nidorino flying.

"Nidorino is unable to battle. Roxy wins."

"Let's see you take this," he mumbled. He didn't call out his Pokémon's name as he threw the Pokeball. I gasped when an Eevee appeared. Roxy looked shock as well. Gary smirked. "Let's see who's Eevee is stronger. "Quick Attack!"

"You too!" The two Eevees raced towards each other. They began circling each other, growling and baring their teeth. "Bite!"

"Dodge it and use Tail Whip!" Eevee swiftly got out of the way and struck Roxy. "Now Sand Attack!"

"Eevee!" Roxy cried as she was thrown back.

"Tackle!" I ordered.

"Stay where you are and use Tail Whip!" As Roxy reached him, Eevee lashed out with his tail and tripped her. "Stand back and use Take Down!"

I gasped. They must have done a lot of training to get to the level to be able to do that move. I sighed as Roxy was flung against the field.

"Roxy is unable to battle. Gary's Eevee wins," Delilah announced.

"Roxy, return!" I only had one Pokemon left. Not much of a choice. "Go Alex!"

"Charmander!" Alex said happily.

"Ember!" I ordered.

"Dodge it!" Eevee jumped out of the way of the flames. "Take Down!"

"Leap up with your tail and use Ember again!" Alex used his tail as leverage to jump into the air. Once he was above Eevee, he spit fire at him. It was a direct hit. Alex landed on his feet.

"Eevee, Tackle!"

"Scratch!" Alex jumped out of the way. As Eevee whizzed by, Alex scratched him along the side. "Ember again! Give it everything you've got!"

"Char!" Alex cried as he engulfed Eevee in a huge fire. When the fire went out, Eevee had fainted. I grinned.

"Eevee is unable to battle. That means Alex wins!" Delilah exclaimed, grinning. I grinned back at her. One more round to go. This was it. I knew what Gary's last Pokemon had to be. It would be fire against water.

"Squirtle!" Gary cried, releasing his Pokemon.

"Squirt!" Squirtle took a fighting stance.

"Water Gun!" Gary said.

"Dodge it and use Smoke Screen!" Alex jumped out of the way of the attack. He filled the air with smoke. "Dragon Rage!"

"Withdraw!" We both waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, Alex was standing and Squirtle was inside his shell. A second later he came out, badly hurt, but still strong. Gary grinned. "That's the way to do it! Bubble!"

"Get out of the way!" I called. Alex raced out of the way to do just that. "Jump up and use Ember!"

"Water Gun!" The two attacks struck each other. Alex hit the floor and continued on. Squirtle finally won over and sent Alex flying back. Just then Squirtle was engulfed in a bright light. All of us gasped. Gary stared in awe as Squirtle evolved into Wartortle. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "All of our training has paid off. Tackle!"

"Scratch!" But Alex didn't have time to scratch as Wartortle hit him hard. "Get up and use Dragon Rage!"

"Bite!" Wartortle knocked Alex off of his feet before he could issue his attack.

"Now use Scratch!" Wartortle and Alex were locked in a wresting struggle. Wartortle was now on top. "Ember!" Alex shot him up into the air with his fire. He managed to land on his feet.

"Give it your best Water Gun!" Wartortle sucked in a breath and blasted Alex with water. I bit my lip as I realized that Alex didn't stand a chance.

"Alex is unable to battle. Wartortle wins the match. The victory goes to Gary," Delilah said without any enthusiasm.

The cheerleaders started cheering again. I hung my head. How could I lose to Gary? "Alex, return."

"I guess that proves that I'm the better trainer," Gary gloated. "Like there as ever any doubt."

I raised my head to glare at him hatefully. "You're just luck Wartortle evolved. We would have won against Squirtle."

Gary raised his eyebrows. We were going to beat you anyway."

"Next time I'll win!" I growled.

"Don't count on it." Gary strutted past me with the cheerleaders at his heels. "Bye, _girls_."

Once he was gone, I slumped my shoulders. I lost. Delilah came up to me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I didn't shrug it off. "Don't be so down. You did your best," she said soothingly.

I sighed. "I know. I guess my best just wasn't good enough." She gave me a sympathetic look, but didn't press the matter. I would just have to become stronger.


	7. The 7 Things I Hate About Him

Chapter 6: The 7 Things I Hate About Him

Once again, my dreams were full of memories. This time I relived the time where I confronted Ash after Gary said we couldn't be friends anymore. I angrily stalked up to an unsuspecting Ash. "This is all your fault!" I exclaimed.

Ash blinked in surprise. "What?" He clearly had no idea what was going on.

"You heard me. Gary leaving is your fault!" I said again for clarification.

Ash still looked confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I sighed, frustrated. "You just had to tell Gary that you knew about the secret that he told me, didn't you?" I didn't know why he wasn't catching on. I thought I had made myself clear. Unless he was just playing dumb.

"What? Are you talking about that whole blanket thing?" Ash asked in surprise. "That happened months ago! It had nothing to do with this. Gary's just turning into a jerk."

I rolled my eyes. "Likely story."

"Besides, if he is still mad about that, it just proves that he _is _a jerk," Ash pointed out.

I glared at him furiously. "I didn't ask for your opinion!" He fell over in surprise. "Just go away, Ash Ketchum! I don't want to see you for a long, long, time!" With that, I turned and stalked off. I immediately began to regret what I just did. It wasn't Ash's fault. I _knew _it wasn't. I just didn't want to believe that it was Gary that was the problem.

My steps became slower. Eventually I fell down on my knees and began to sob. What was I doing? My best friend just left, and now I was pushing away the only other friend I had. Maybe I was the problem. It was _me _who told Gary's secret. That had to be at least part of it.

I wiped my eyes as I stood up. Everything I did was wrong. Maybe everyone here would be better off without me. So I started running. I didn't know where I was running to; I just had to get away from here. I ran until I could run no more. I fell over in a heap on the top of a hill overlooking Pallet Town. I don't know how long I stayed there. Probably hours. I cried myself to sleep.

When I woke up it was the next morning. I looked up and saw a girl my age standing there. She looked familiar, but I had never talked to her before. "Hello," she said. Her voice was kind. "Rose, is it?" I could only nod. "My name's Delilah." She sat down next to me and smiled. "What are you doing all alone?"

I shamefully cast my gaze down. "I'm running away. No one needs me." I sighed.

"Your family does. They're looking for you, you know." I looked up at Delilah's face. "Whatever you did, it can be forgiven. Everyone makes mistakes."

"But mine cost me my friends," I said miserably.

"I'll be your friend," Delilah said. "Come back with me."

I gave her a small smile. I let her help me up. Together, we walked back home.

I woke up gasping. I calmed down as I got a look at my surroundings. I was at the Saffron City Pokemon Center. I checked the time. It was late enough. No use going back to sleep. I laid back down.

"Rose?" Delilah's worried voice asked.

I sighed. I had hoped she didn't hear me. "Just another bad dream," I mumbled.

Delilah sat straight up. Her voice was firm. "What are these dreams about? You can tell me."

I hesitated. She might as well know. "Do you remember the day we met? I mean, really met?" I began cautiously.

Delilah nodded. "You had run away from home and I found you. What was that about?"

I sighed again. I told the story from beginning to finish. Delilah was staring at me with wide eyes by the time I was done. "It wasn't your fault, you know," she said quietly.

I blinked in surprise. "What wasn't my fault?"

"That Gary changed," Delilah said simply. "Sometimes that just happens to people and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I know that _now_," I explained. "I stopped blaming myself a long time ago." I looked down at my lap.

"He's really got you messed up, hasn't he?"

I nodded. My head suddenly shot up as I thought of something. "I know what I can do! I'll make a list – seven things I hate about Gary."

Delilah looked a bit surprise. "Why seven?"

I shrugged. "Seven is a good number." I looked at her eagerly. "So, do you think I should do it?"

"If you think it will help."

I grinned. "It will. First thing, he makes me have nightmares. Second thing, he left me for no reason. I'll think of the rest later."

Delilah nodded approvingly. "That's a good start."

"Come on, let's get ready."

I lost my match with Sabrina, the gym leader. I was too busy thinking about Gary, my dreams, and the list. I walked back to Delilah, muttering, "Number three, he distracts me so I lose battles."

Delilah won the contest that day. At least one good thing had happened. My happiness for her died off by the time we were having dinner at a local restaurant. "Distract me," I moaned. "We're going to Vermilion City next, right? Tell me something about it."

Delilah frowned slightly and pulled out her guide book. "Hey, here's something!" she said suddenly. "There is a trainer in Vermilion City who will give you a Farfetch'd in exchange for a Spearow." She looked up at me. "Farfetch'd are almost extinct because they're being hunted as meat."

I grinned. "I'll have to catch a Spearow then."

"You'll have to send one of your Pokemon back to Professor Oak first," Delilah reminded me. "You can only carry around six Pokemon."

"I know, I know," I said.

A lot happened after that. I sent Roxy back with Professor Oak. The next day I had a rematch with Sabrina. This time I won. I easily caught a Spearow on the way to Vermillion City. I traded it for a Farfetch'd, which I named 'Scout.' Chester evolved into a Sandslash while battling the gym leader Surge's Raichu. Delilah won another contest.

On the way to Celadon City, I caught a Gowlithe and named it 'Tony.' Delilah thought that was funny for some reason. I sent Chester back to Professor Oak. I used Alex and Tony to easily win my Rainbow Badge from the Celadon Gym. Alex even evolved when the battle was through! He looked great as a Charmeleon. Unfortunately, Delilah lost her contest.

After that we started the long trek to Fuchsia City. I battled several trainers on the way. Speedy evolved into a Raticate during one of them. I sent him back at a small town so I could catch a new Pokemon. Delilah's Poliwag evolved into a Poliwhirl. She also caught a Cubone. Soon enough, I caught a Bulbasaur using Alex. I named him 'Jasper.' Jasper and Petals took an immediate liking to each other. But when they first met, Petals evolved into an Ivysaur. Jasper didn't see phased by this though.

By the time we reached the town before Fuchsia City, it had been about seven months since we first started out. I thought we were making pretty good progress. Delilah agreed. She had three ribbons and I had five badges. We were both grinning as we entered the town.

I was gazing around when something I saw made me freeze in place. Delilah frowned as she turned around and walked back to me. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern in her voice. I motioned with my eyes to Gary, who had just walked in another way, with his cheerleaders trailing him. "Let's just go and hope he doesn't see us," Delilah whispered.

I nodded. I managed to start moving again. "Speaking of Gary," I said softly. "Do you remember that list I started making months ago? The seven things I hate about him?" Delilah nodded. "Well, I just thought of another. I can't believe I missed it."

"What is it?" Delilah asked curiously.

"His arrogance," I replied.

"Yep, that would be a big one," Delilah agreed.

"Just three more to go." I was so busy talking in hushed tones with my friend to look where I was going. Suddenly I smacked right into something… or _someone_. I fell backwards, but Delilah helped steady me. I gazed up to see what I had knocked into and gasped. My most _favorite_ person in the world was standing there smirking at me.

"It doesn't look like you're excited to see me, Rosie," Gary sneered.

I glared at him furiously. "Don't call me that!" I glanced back at Delilah. "Number five."

Gary raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Why not? You used to love that nickname."

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. Every muscle in my body strained as I fought the urge to spring on him. I couldn't take it if he talked about the past. That was forbidden territory. It hurt to even think about it. I yelled out the first thing I could think of. "I've got eight Pokemon! Beat that!"

Gary rolled his eyes. "Is that all? I've got _50_."

I stepped back in shock. "W-what?"

Gary snickered. "You heard me."

"_Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, nobody can!_"

I growled in annoyance. "Number six," I muttered to Delilah. "Annoying cheerleaders."

"Just face it, I-"

But I never got to hear what he was going to say. Just then a siren went off. All of us quickly turned our heads in the direction of the noise. I was surprised to see that we were very close to the Pokemon Center. Red lights were flashing and alarms were blaring. Nurse Joy walked out of the center, looking alarmed. Officer Jenny ran to meet her. Gary, Delilah, and I followed suit.

"What happened?" Officer Jenny demanded.

"Bonnie and Clyde!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "They stole all of the Pokemon!"

It was then that I noticed the sucking noise. It stopped a second later. I turned to see a giant metallic robot step out of the bushes. One of its arms looked like a funnel. A hand suddenly popped out. I could see two figures in the head of the robot. It took a step forward. The cheerleaders huddled together, whimpering. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Now was not the time.

"Ladon, go!" I cried. The Gyarados appeared with a roar. "Stop that robot!" Ladon flew in front of the robot. It used its large body to strike it.

"Be careful," Jenny warned. "I'm calling backup."

"Pinsir!" Gary called beside me, releasing his Pokemon. "Bind one of the robot's legs!" Pinsir clamped onto the left leg. The robot was forced back by Ladon. It tried to shake Pinsir off.

"Dragon Rage!" I shouted. Before Ladon could perform the attack, the robot swept him away with its arm. Ladon hit a tree and fell down. I gritted my teeth. "We need more Pokemon."

"Go Petals!" Delilah said from behind me. "Help them out!"

"Ivy," Petals said as she raced towards the robot.

I reached for another Pokeball. Gary pulled my arm away to stop me. "Don't just send anyone out there," he warned. "We need to come up with a strategy."

I jerked my arm away from him. "I know what I'm doing," I hissed.

Gary let out an aggravated sigh. "Will you just listening to me for once?!"

"Fine," I said through clenched teeth. "What's the plan?"

"No time to explain. Call out Alex," he ordered.

I was surprised that he remembered my Charmeleon's name, but I didn't have time to dwell on that. "Alex, go!"

"Meleon," Alex said, taking a fighting stance. I glanced at Gary.

"Use fire attacks," he said.

I nodded. "Alex, aim your Ember attack at the robot!" Alex sent a huge stream of flames directly at the robot. It was too busy fighting Ladon, Pinsir, and Petals to take much noticed. I was trying to figure out what Gary was up to. Fire couldn't defeat the robot.

"Now stop!" Gary said.

"Alex, enough." The fire went out.

Gary took out a Pokeball. "Now, Wartortle!"

"Wartortle!" The turtle Pokemon stood by Alex.

"Water Gun!" Wartortle shot water at the same place that Alex's fire hat hit. "Stop! Rose, we need more fire!"

"Alex, Ember again!" I issued. Alex nodded and did as he was told.

"We have to keep using fire and water attacks," Gary explained. "Cold water on heated metal will cause it to crack."

I nodded in understanding. It made perfect sense. Alex didn't need to be told to stop. Wartortle used water gun again. I chose this time to check up on the other Pokemon. I grimaced. They didn't seem to be doing too well.

A few minutes later, loud cracking sound was heard. The robot was breaking! "Alex, Ladon, both of you, use Dragon Rage!" I called.

"Wartortle, Rapid Spin! Pinsir, Focus Energy!" Gary cried.

"Petals, Razor Leaf!" Delilah joined in.

The robot wasn't able to withstand the five attacks coming from different angles. With a loud crash, it broke into many pieces. The Pokeballs rolled onto the ground. Bonnie and Clyde looked around, bewildered.

"Yes!" Gary and I exclaimed at the same time. Without thinking, we gave each other a high five. We exchanged shocked expressions when we realized what we had just done.

"Time to go," Bonnie's voice interrupted us. The five Pokemon growled, surrounding the duo. I smirked. There was no way out.

"Hold on!" Officer Jenny cried out. I turned to see half a dozen Officer Jennys running towards the scene with their Growlithes at their feet. They handcuffed the criminals.

I returned Ladon to his Pokeball, and Gary did the same with Pinsir. Alex, Wartortle, and Petals were congratulating each other. I smiled as Alex and Wartortle shook hands. Delilah glanced at me and raised her eyebrows. I knew what she was thinking.

I looked at Gary. His face was full of relief. And he was smiling. I didn't realize how much I missed his smile. He turned his head and caught me looking. I froze. But he continued smiling and gave me a small nod. I grinned back. I understood the message. This was a temporary ceasefire.

"Thanks a lot, you three," the first Officer Jenny congratulated us. "You guys make a great team. Especially you two." She motioned to Gary and me. I blinked in surprise. "If you ever need anything, just tell me." She glanced down at our Pokemon. A small smile formed on her lips. "The three starter Pokemon. Cute. Are you three from the same city?"

Gary nodded. "We're from Pallet Town."

"Well, thanks again and good luck," Jenny said before walking away.

A half hour later, things had calmed down. Delilah and I were talking excitedly to each other about what had just happened when Gary approached us. We immediately stopped talking to hear what he had to say.

"I'm leaving in a minute," he began. "Great job today; both of you." His eyes rested on me. "Just know that this doesn't change a thing. The truce is over once I leave this town."

I couldn't help but smile. "I wouldn't expect anything else, Gary."

Gary smirked and nodded, satisfied. "Goodbye." I blinked when he held out his hand to me. I hesitated before shaking it. He did the same to Delilah. I tried not to think about how warm his hand had felt in fine; about how good it had felt…

"See ya later, Rosie, Delilah," Gary said. He winked before turning and walking away.

I could only stare after him. I didn't even care that he called me 'Rosie.' For the first time in a long time, being with him had filled me with happiness. And then the horror struck. Bitter realization hit me. I knew what the seventh thing I hated about him was. And it was the worst of all. It was the one thing I resented the most about him. It was the one thing that was keeping me from letting go. I sucked in a breath. "Number seven," I breathed, releasing the air.

Delilah looked at me with confusion. I quickly took out the list and scribbled something on the bottom. I handed the list to my friend. She read it, and then looked up at me with a shocked expression. I smiled grimly. I was sunk.

**The 7 Things I Hate About Gary**

1. He makes me have nightmares.

2. He left me for no reason.

3. He distracts me so I lose gym battles.

4. He's arrogant.

5. He calls me 'Rosie.'

6. He has annoying cheerleaders.

7. He makes me love him.


	8. Breaking Point

Chapter 7: Breaking Point

That night, I had my first real dream about Gary. It wasn't a memory. It was a real nightmare. It started out pleasant. I was happily talking with Gary as we were walking through the forest. But then suddenly everything changed. The sky darkened and thunder was hears. Gary's skin turned green. His fingernails grew and his teeth became long fangs. I stepped back in horror as he advanced upon me. A scream escaped my throat.

I didn't realize my scream broke through to reality until I saw Delilah by my side. "What happened?!"

"Gary, bad dream," I breathed.

Delilah let out a heavy sigh. "We should really stop running into him."

I grimaced. She had noticed the pattern. I dreamed about Gary every time I saw him. She was right. This had to stop. But I couldn't bear not seeing him. I slowly slid back into bed. I would have to think about it in the morning.

The next day, I won my gym battle and Delilah made it to the second round of the contest. At least she did our best. I continued battling trainers on the way to the next city. Sammy evolved into a Persian and I caught a Magnemite, naming it Shocks. I sent Sammy back soon after.

Delilah and I were both successful at the next city. We walked out triumphantly. I had seven badges and Delilah had four ribbons. Only one more to go for the both of us. Delilah caught an Oddish right when six weeks had passed since the Fuchsia City incident.

We were walking down the road when we saw Ash, Misty, and Brock ahead. Actually, they saw us first. "Rose! Delilah!" I heard Ash called. I turned and grinned as he and his two friends ran up to us.

"How's it going?" I asked cheerfully.

"Great!" Ash exclaimed. "I've got six badges!"

I smiled. "Awesome. I've got seven." We continued talking as we went on our way. We would split up when the time came, just like last time. Eventually, we found ourselves at the entrance of Grandpa Canyon.

"Hey, we should check this out," Brock suggested.

Ash nodded. "Sure. It could be pretty cool."

"I'm in," I said. I glanced at Delilah and Misty. "Any objections?"

"No, not at all," Delilah said.

"Let's go," Misty added.

Ash grinned. "Alright!"

We headed straight into the canyon. We looked around in awe. It was pretty beautiful. We stopped when we got to a sign depicting two pickets and an arrow pointing deep into the canyon. There was a large line of people heading that direction.

"What's going on down there?" Ash asked. I was thinking the same thing. "I wonder what everybody's doing with those picks and shovels."

"Don't you know anything?" a voice sneered. I cringed inwardly. I was suddenly glad I was with Ash. It was nice to have someone who shared part of my pain. I was the last to turn and look at Gary. I was surprised by his attire. He was dressed like an explorer. He had brown boots, a brown jacket, and a brown hat on. A bag was slung over his shoulder. "Ash, not only late as usual, but clueless too."

"Hey, it's Gary!" Ash exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Way to notice," I mumbled. Apparently Gary heard me, for he glanced in my direction.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Ash asked.

Gary glanced at Ash, and then back at me. "I bet at least you know, don't you, Rosie?"

"Oh, of course," I said quickly, even though I had no idea. "But I think I'll let you have the honor of explaining."

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Hmph." He looked back at Ash. "How can you not know about the Pokemon Discovery? Even a nerd like you should have heard about the Great Fossil Rush."

"The Great Fossil Rush?" Ash, Misty, Brock, and Delilah repeated. I remained silent.

"_Gary, Gary, he's our man. If he can't find them no one can._"

Gary smiled and waved at the cheerleaders. "Thank you, thank you, to all my loyal fans!"

I scoffed. "Give me a break."

"I gotta go," Gary said. "I gotta find all the fossils quick before anyone else does. I can't waste my precious time hanging around with a loser like you," he said to Ash before running off. He looked over his shoulder at us. "You should find better company, Delilah." He looked at me for a second before turning back around. I glared after him.

"I am not a loser!" Ash cried, balling his hands into fists. Misty and Brock had to hold him back. "That know-it-all!" He broke free from their grasps and angrily turned to face us. "I'm gonna find a Pokemon fossil before Gary even starts digging! That'll show him who the real loser is."

"Good plan," I said in approval.

"I don't feel right about digging up old Pokemon fossils," Brock argued. "Especially after they've been resting in the earth for such a long time."

"If they've been lying under ground for thousands of years maybe they'd like a little fresh air," Misty pointed out. Delilah chuckled. I wasn't in the mood.

"I think it's your brain that needs fresh air," Ash said.

"Who asked you?" Misty retorted.

"How about we stop arguing and start digging?" I suggested.

"Oh, good idea," Ash agreed.

"Maybe we should split up," Brock suggested. "That way we'll have a better chance of finding something."

Ash and I nodded. We came to a fork in the road and split. Delilah and I went in the direction the group of people had gone. I gasped as I entered the digging grounds. There were people everywhere! I could see Gary straight ahead.

"Hello," a gruff voice said. We turned to face an older man. "Do you two need picks? I have an extra one you can share."

"Oh, that's ok," Delilah said quickly. "I'd rather just watch."

I smiled. "Thanks," I said to the man. I found the first empty spot I could, which happened to be near Gary. He didn't even spare me a look. I was growing frustrated. I concentrated hard on digging.

I turned when I heard Gary gasped. I groaned when I saw that he found something. He picked up a chunky, gray lump. "Success. My first Pokemon fossil," he declared.

"Yay!" the girls cheered. They started up their cheering again.

Suddenly, a person who looked like a scientist took the lump from Gary and examined it under a magnifying glass. "Hmm…"

Gary smirked. "Impressive, isn't it? I found it on my first try. It looks like a brain from an extinct Pokemon."

"This is…" the man started to say.

"A brain?" Gary interrupted.

"It's fossilized Pokemon manure," the scientist finished.

"Huh?" Gary grimaced.

"Ew! Yuck! Gross!" the cheerleaders exclaimed.

I burst out laughing. Delilah soon joined in. Gary glared at me. "What's so funny, Rosie?" he snarled. "At least I found something!"

I grinned, trying hard to stop laughing. "On a scale of worth, poop is below the line," I said through giggles. "So technically, I'm doing better than you."

Gary continued glaring at me. "I'll show you! I'll find a _real _fossil this time."

The laughter finally seemed to die out. "If you say so, Gary." I smirked. He muttered something under his breath and returned to digging.

I hadn't been digging long when there was a loud explosion. Everyone looked up in confusion. The ground started to shake like there was an earthquake. I glanced up ahead. Rocks ranging from tiny pebbles to giant boulders were falling down.

My eyes widened as I saw a good sized boulder aiming for Gary, who seemed to be oblivious of this fact. "Look out!" I cried. Gary turned his head in surprise as I smashed right into him, sending us both toppling to the ground. I the next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my head. After that everything went dark…

It seemed like seconds later that I blinked my eyes opened. I groaned. What just happened? I couldn't remember much. My memory was foggy. I remembered the canyon… explosion… Gary… I gasped as I sat straight up. "Gary!" I exclaimed. "Ow!" Sharp pain shot through my head.

"Don't hurt yourself," a voice snickered.

I blinked as I took in my surroundings. I seemed to be in a room on a bed. Probably the Pokemon center. Gary was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, still looking like an explorer. Delilah ran over to my bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" she said.

I smiled weakly at her. "Wh-what happened?"

"You hit your head on the rock when you knocked me down," Gary explained. "Way to go."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "A 'thank you' would be nice."

"Rose…" Delilah said warningly.

"I never asked for your help," Gary retorted. "I can take care of myself. I was just about to jump out of the way."

"I highly doubt that," I scowled.

"And why did you go and get yourself hurt?" he went on. "That was pretty dumb if you ask me."

I glared at him, trying to force the tears back. This is what I get for saving him? That hardly seemed fair. "Do you want to know what I think? I think you have too much pride to admit you were vulnerable. You're just a selfish, arrogant, jerk!" I spat.

"Is this really necessary?" Delilah tried to intervene.

Gary matched my glare with intensity. "Oh yeah? Well, you're a stupid, annoying girl!"

"If I'm so stupid why did you ever hang out with me so long?" I didn't realize that I was crossing the line; the line that I had created myself. At the moment, I don't think I even cared.

Delilah sighed, apparently giving up on trying to get us to stop.

"I wasn't so bright back then either," Gary retorted.

I leaned back, stung. Did he even realize what he just said? I swallowed. It was hard to say my next words. "Do you resent ever being my friend?" I asked softly.

Gary hesitated. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "I don't regret the past," he said slowly. "It's gone. I can't change it. I enjoyed our time then, but right now too much has changed for it to continue."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You mean _you've _changed."

"For the better!" he insisted. "I've become a lot smarter."

I gasped, guessing at his hidden meaning. Tears formed in my eyes as I jumped out of bed. "Well, do you know what's changed with me? I _hate _you, Gary Oak!" I didn't wait to see his reaction. I raced out of the room.

"Are you feeling better?" Nurse Joy asked as I passed.

"No!" I exclaimed. Once I was outside, I just kept running. I don't know where I was running to. It was like the time when I was seven. I just needed to get away from there. I was grateful Delilah didn't follow me. I ran until I could run no more. I collapsed on the hard ground and started to sob, just like the time all those years ago.

I didn't look up when I heard footsteps stop beside me. "Delilah, go away!" I said. I didn't feel like talking to someone right now.

"It's not Delilah," a male voice said. I immediately recognized it as Ash's.

I sat up and wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. My back was still towards him. "Well, you can go away too," I mumbled. I waited, but I didn't hear him leave.

"What happened?" His voice came from right beside me. He must have been kneeling down with me. I still didn't face him.

"Nothing," I muttered.

"Oh, come on," Ash said. "You wouldn't be crying for no reason. You're not like that."

I flinched. He was right. I sighed and finally turned to look at him. The tears had stopped, but I could feel them threatening to come back. Ash's face was full of concern. "Ash…" I said softly. Without thinking, I pulled him into me, burring my face in his chest. Tears started streaming down my face again. Ash wrapped his arms around me and helped me stand up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I sucked in a breath. Bad idea. "I'm ok," I said. "It only hurts when I breath."

"What happened?" Ash asked again in a gentler tone.

"Gary," was all I could say.

I felt Ash stiffen. "I'll kill him," he said angrily.

"No!" I pleaded. "Please don't." I wouldn't be able to take that. Ash relaxed. I don't know how long we stayed like that. He held me until I was able to calm down. After awhile I was finally able to find my voice. "Ash?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah, Rose?"

"Don't ever leave me," I whispered. "Promise me that."

"I won't," Ash said. "I promise."

I managed to smile slightly. "Thanks." I felt a lot better after that. Ash wasn't going to leave. I knew I'd be alright eventually. I had true friends now.

Ash gently pulled away. "Let's get back. The others are probably worrying about us."

I nodded. Ash had his arm around me as we walked. I leaned into him. I still wasn't ready to let go. I needed to make sure he would really be there.

I didn't see what I expected when we got to the Pokemon Center. Delilah and Gary seemed to be battling. It was Fearow against Cubone. Misty and Brock were standing on the side. No one noticed us at first.

We watched as the battle came to a close. Delilah had lost. That was when she looked up and saw us. "Rose!" she said in surprise. Now Gary, Brock, and Misty turned their heads. "I was trying to avenge you, but I kinda failed."

I smiled slightly. "It's ok. I'm better now."

Gary was staring at Ash and me. At first I thought I saw a flicker of anger in his eyes, but I must have imagined it, because a second later he smirked and said, "Well, well, well, what do we have here? I always knew you two losers would end up together."

My eyes widened in shock. "What?" we both exclaimed. I realized Ash's arm was still around me. He immediately let it drop and stepped back.

I glared at Gary and pulled Ash back to me. "You're wrong," I retorted. "But we don't care what you think."

Ash blinked. "We don't?"

I nodded in affirmation. "Of course we don't."

"Good for you," Delilah said.

"Come on guys, let's go." I turned and headed down the path. Delilah was right behind me.

"Wait up!" Misty called as she and Brock ran to catch up.

"Hmph," I heard Gary say.


	9. Trouble

Chapter 8: Trouble

I don't even remember my dream that night. I just remember Gary and screaming. And Ash was there. He helped me get away from the horror of everything else that was happening. That made it a little better.

Delilah and I traveled with Ash, Misty, and Brock until we had to split up. I had to try twice for my last badge. But it felt great when I finally got it. Unfortunately, Delilah lost her contest. We decided to try a couple more cities on the way back to Pallet Town. Delilah _had_ to get her final ribbon.

I found a Vulpix while we were traveling. I named her 'Sasha.' Unfortunately I had to send Ladon back to Professor Oak. I now had 11 Pokemon. And half of my current team was fire types. I was doing great. Petals evolved into a Venasaur after some intense training. Jasper would not be beaten and evolved into an Ivysaur.

We ran into Ash and his friends another six weeks later. Misty now had a Togepi that she carried around. We entered a small town together to spend the night. We were chatting about the upcoming months.

"We're stopping at Viridian City for my final gym battle," Ash said.

"We might stop there too," I said. "Delilah still needs one more ribbon."

Ash grinned. "Cool. Maybe we'll see each other there."

"How sweet," an all-too familiar voice sneered. "I see you losers are still traveling together." Ash and I glared at him.

"_Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, nobody can!_"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The cheerleaders cowered in fear.

Gary turned to look at them. "Calm down, girls. She can't hurt you." He looked back at me, smirking. "Jealous much?" He raised his eyebrows.

My eyes widened. "What? No way! Why should I be jealous of _them_?"

"Oh, right," Gary said. "You're with Ashy boy."

"WHAT?!" Ash and I both exclaimed, me being louder than him. Brock, Misty, and Delilah sweat dropped.

"I thought we cleared this up last time," I said, rolling my eyes.

Gary went on as if he hadn't heard me. "Although, why you would choose a loser like him is beyond me."

"That's it!" Ash cried. His eyes were blazing with fury. "I demand a battle, _now_!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, sparks dancing on his cheeks.

Gary smirked. "Defeating you will be my pleasure. Three on three?" Ash nodded.

"Good luck," I muttered to Ash as I walked to the side with Brock, Misty, and Delilah. Gary and Ash stepped away from each other.

"Blastoise!" Gary called. I had to admire the newly evolved Pokemon.

"Ready, Pikachu?' Ash asked his electric mouse.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed. He stepped up onto the field. "Thundershock!"

"Blastoise, Withdraw!" Gary ordered. The turtle Pokemon retreated inside his shell as the thunder hit it. "Now Water Gun!" Blastoise shot a stream of water at Pikachu.

"Stand still and use Thundershock again!" Ash countered. Pikachu stood his ground. He used Thundershock right when the water hit, sending the attack straight back to Blastoise. Pikachu was thrown back, but Blastoise cried out in pain. "Quick Attack!" Pikachu raced towards Blastoise.

"Rapid Spin!" Blastoise jumped into the air and went inside his shell. He spun around, water spraying everywhere. Pikachu was thrown back again. "Now Skull Bash!" Blastoise came out and headed straight towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!" Pikachu didn't get out of the way in time. "Pikachu!" Pikachu struggled, but managed to stand up.

"_Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, nobody can!_" the girls cheered.

I decided to try a cheer of my own. "_Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, GREAT!_" The cheerleaders glared at me. Gary rolled his eyes in annoyance. I smirked.

Ash grinned. "Thunderbolt!"

All of a sudden, giant, rubber hands grabbed Pikachu and Blastoise. We all gasped and turned to see the cause of this. The hands were attached to a giant machine that was coming towards us. Two people, dressed in the same clothes as Bonnie and Clyde were, were standing on top of the machine. A Meowth was standing in between them.

"Prepare for trouble," the girl said.

"Make it double," the boy added.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meooowth! That's right!" the Meowth said. I blinked in surprise. A Pokemon just talked!

"Team Rocket!" Ash, Misty, and Brock exclaimed.

I glanced at Ash. "You know them?"

Ash nodded, glaring at the trio. "They've been trying to steal Pikachu ever since I started out."

I gasped. "That's terrible!"

"Wheezing, Smoke Screen," James said. I coughed as the air filled with thick smoke.

"Pidgeotto, Whirl Wind!" Ash cried. The smoke was blown away within seconds. But Team Rocket and the machine were going away. They still had Pikachu and Blastoise.

" Onix, stop them!" Brock said.

"Dang! I left Ladon back with Professor Oak," I said, swallowing hard.

"Why would you leave your best Pokemon behind?" Gary questioned as he appeared by my side.

I shot him a look. "I didn't know something like this was going to happen!"

Gary looked at me disapprovingly. "Has experience taught you nothing?"

I was about to reply when Delilah stepped in between us. "Stop it!" she cried. "We can fight later!" She turned and took out a Pokeball. "Petals, go!"

I followed suit. "Jasper!"

"Bulbasaur, you too!" Ash put in.

"Wow, the three stages of Bulbasaur," Brock mused.

By this time Onix had blocked the path of the machine. Team Rocket couldn't find a way around him. "Tackle!" Delilah, Ash, and I said at the same time. The machine was nearly knocked over by the combined attacks.

"Blastoise, Water Gun!" Gary called. Blastoise only managed to squirt out a little water because of the position he was in.

Jessie chuckled. "Water won't help." Pikachu struggled. He tried to use thunder attacks, but the hand holding him was made of rubber. Bulbasaur, Jasper, and Petals continued using Tackle. The machine swayed back and forth.

Thinking quickly, I took out another Pokeball. "Go Alex!"

"Char!" Alex roared.

"Flamethrower!" The fire Alex let out engulfed almost all of the machine. Jessie, James, and Meowth cried out as they were sizzled. Alex dropped the flames after a few seconds.

"Blastoise, Rapid Spin!" Gary ordered. Blastoise retreaded inside his shell. The spinning motion allowed him to shoot our more water. Just then, a combination of the attacks from Onix, Petals, Jasper, and Bulbasaur caused the machine to toppled over. Blastoise and Pikachu broke free of the hands.

"Alex, use Flamethrower again!"

"Water Gun!"

"Thunderbolt!"

First fire hit, and then water. Pikachu's thunderbolt was the last to take effect. As soon as it did, we were all instantly thrown back in a huge explosion. I don't know how long I was in the air before I hit the ground hard.


	10. Yin and Yang

Chapter 9: Yin and Yang

I groaned as I slowly stood up. I rubbed my head. I blinked my eyes opened and looked around. Where was I? It was too dark to tell. All I knew was that I was in the forest.

A flicker of light caught my attention. I turned and ran in the direction it was coming from. "Alex!" I cried when I saw my Charmeleon in a heap.

"Meleon," Alex huffed.

"You're okay!" I hugged him fiercely. I pulled back and looked straight into his eyes. "Where's everyone else?"

Alex looked around before shaking his head. "Char," he replied sadly.

I stood up and looked around again. I was starting to get very worried. My heart beat faster and faster. "Jasper?!" I called. "Delilah! Ash! Brock! Misty!" I paused. My breathing was getting heavy. "Gary?!"

I heard a moan from above me. I glanced up in surprise to see Gary in the tree above me. "Gary!" I cried.

"Help me down," he muttered. I held out my hand to him. He took it and used it as support to climb down. He shook his head. "Where's everyone else?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know. I just found Alex here. And a good thing, too. We can use the flame on his tail as a light to find a way out of here."

Gary nodded. "Let's go."

Alex took the leader. Gary and I walked behind him, keeping pace with each other. I kept my eyes opened for the town or anyone else. I didn't have much luck. I gasped as a drop of water hit my hand. I glanced up. It was starting to rain!

"Meleon," Alex said in annoyance.

"We have to find shelter!" I said.

"Where?!" Gary demanded. "Under a large tree will be no good. If there's thunder, we'll be electrocuted!"

I was too close to panic to argue with him. I hurriedly looked around for a place to go. "Charmeleon," I heard Alex say before he took off.

"Hey!" I cried. Gary and I followed him to the entrance of a cave.

"Inside!" Gary ordered. Within seconds all three of us were safe inside the cave. I let out a sigh of relief. I slipped my backpack off and set it by the cave wall. I took my hat off and squeezed my hair to get the water out. "Unbelievable," I heard Gary mutter. I sat down and opened my backpack, looking through it. "What are you doing?"

I smiled as I pulled out a bag of hot dogs. "Dinner," I replied. "Alex, can I use your tail as a fire?"

"Char," Alex said with a nod. He turned so that his back was facing me.

Gary looked through his own bag. He scowled after a minute. "I'm all out of food. I was going to buy more at town. Stupid Team Rocket," he muttered. He sighed. "I hope Blastoise is okay."

I frowned and nodded. "Jasper too. And Delilah. And Ash and his friends." Gary muttered something I didn't catch. I took out a hot dog and a stick and held them out to Gary.

"What?" he asked, looking at the hot dog as if it were poisonous.

"Take it," I said. "You don't want to go hungry, do you?" Gary hesitated before taking the hot dog and stick. I rolled my eyes, shaking off my disappointment. If he didn't thank me for nearly saving his life, why did I expect him to thank me for giving him a meal?

I cooked another hot dog after mine was down and gave it to Alex. We ate in silence. After I was done, I took out my sleeping bag and got in it. I sat up, leaning against the wall, and watched Gary do the same. He was clear across the other side of the cave.

"You'll be warmer over hear near Alex," I called out to him.

He looked up at me and smirked. "Are you sure you can trust me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just get over here."

Gary picked up his sleeping bag and moved it over. He placed it right next to mine. I shivered involuntarily. That was a little too close. Alex stood in between us. He was staring at Gary with intense eyes. I inconspicuously tried to remove my fire pendent from my neck. Apparently I wasn't secretive enough. I froze when Gary spoke.

"What's that?" he asked. His voice was curious, not scolding. He must not have seen it clearly. "I didn't see you wearing a necklace."

I gulped. "It's, uh, nothing," I said quickly. My heart quickened its pace.

Gary now looked at me suspiciously. "Let me see."

"No!" I cried. Gary paid no heed. He climbed over me and tried to snatch the necklace from my hand. I held it away.

"Char!" Alex said, holding my arm back so that Gary could take the necklace. I glared at Gary, and then Alex. "Traitor," I muttered. I tried to control my breathing and my beating heart. What would happen now? I waited in agonizing silence.

Gary's eyes widened in shock. "This is the fire pendent I gave you six years ago!" I winced. "Why are you still wearing it?" His voice was still calm. I relaxed a little. He just wanted to know.

"Force of habit?" I said weakly.

Gary narrowed his eyes at me. I knew he wouldn't believe that. But I had to try. "Tell me the truth, Rose."

I gulped. I made not of how he didn't call me 'Rosie.' This was serious. I looked down to avoid the gazes of both Gary and Alex. I sighed. "Ok," I said reluctantly. "I wear it because I don't want to forget the past. I miss how things used to be." I looked up at Gary. He didn't look mad. He looked like he was thinking hard about something. Was that a good sign? I was sure he was going to yell at me.

"I miss it too," Gary finally said softly. I gaped in surprise. That was _not_ what I was expecting. He glanced down for a second, and then looked up into my eyes. "I haven't forgotten our lost friendship like you seem to think I have." I looked away. This was too intense. "Like I said before, I don't regret it. Those were great times, probably the best in my life. We were carefree, with no worries, and nothing mattered. We could just have fun."

I looked back at him. "And there were no requirements for being friends," I said slowly. "You could just be yourself." I should have been grateful that he wasn't yelling. So why was I even more nervous that he was talking to me calmly?

Gary nodded. "Right. And we were naïve and ignorant. But that's the beauty of childhood. It's how it's supposed to be. We need that so we'll be ready to face the world when we're older. If I had known then what I do now, I wouldn't change anything. Just because we can't be friends now doesn't mean we have to forget the past." I smiled slightly. I had finally calmed down and got my breathing back on track. What Gary was saying was reassuring. I wasn't going crazy after all. Gary gave me the necklace back. "Where it outside of your shirt to honor the past."

"Ok," I said quietly. I was surprised I was able to speak. I put the fire pendent back into my backpack.

"While we're on the subject, I'd like to suggest a truce," Gary said.

I eyed him warily. "On what conditions?"

"None," he replied. "It's too much energy trying to annoy both you _and _Ash. And I don't mind you as much, so I think I'll just focus on him."

I blinked. "Ok… What does this mean?"

"We'll treat each other as rivals; nothing more, nothing less," Gary explained. "We can stop all this arguing."

"That would be nice," I admitted. I hid a smile. This was a step in the right direction. But I couldn't expect much. Gary held out his hand to me. I smiled slightly as I shook it. "Deal."

Gary smirked. "Great." He leaned back against the wall. Alex nodded approvingly.

"So, what's the deal with your pendant then?" I asked casually. It sure was an odd symbol. It was a swirl of green and yellow. I had always been curious about it.

"Oh, this?" Gary fingered the pendant. "This is the symbol for Yin and Yang."

I blinked, tilting my head to the side slightly. "What's Yin and Yang?"

"It's an old Chinese philosophy used to describe how opposite forces are bound together and need each other to survive," Gary explained. "One can't exist without the other. Ying and Yang is male and female, summer and winter, dark and light, the sun and the moon…"

"Fire and water?" I guessed. I was starting to see what he meant.

Gary nodded. "Exactly. It can also apply to people's personalities, like angry or calm, or active or passive." He let go of the pendant to look at me. "My grandfather gave me this. He thinks that Ying and Yang apply to everyone. He believes that all of us have someone that we're meant to be with. And that person is our opposite. Together we are complete, just like Yin and Yang." He shrugged. "It's an interesting concept. It's nice to think that there's someone out there meant for us; someone that complements us completely."

I nodded. I didn't know Gary knew so much. Maybe it was because we haven't had a civilized conversation for a long time. At that moment, he was talking to me like we were friends again, like nothing had changed. I had to hold onto that as long as I could. "Have you found that someone?" I asked.

Gary hesitated slightly before shaking his head. "Not yet."

"Not even one of those cheerleaders?" I said teasingly.

Gary chuckled softly. "Nope. I could have any of them in a second if I wanted. I want more of a challenge. Love isn't worth it unless we have to work for it."

I nodded. "That's why we always want the one we can't have and ignore the one who wants us," I murmured, more to myself than to Gary.

Gary raised his eyebrows. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

I flushed. "It's Delilah," I said a little too quickly. How could I admit to him what I was desperately trying to deny myself? My heart started beating faster again. "I've absorbed her silly romantic notions."

Gary seemed to accept this and nodded. I sighed in relief. "Forbidden love is twice as sweet," he said softly, leaning closer to me. I couldn't look away from his eyes. I prayed that he couldn't hear my rapidly beating heart.

"A-a challenge then," I stammered. I swallowed hard. "Would that be someone who completely hates you?"

Gary smirked and leaned back. My heart slowed down. "That's one option."

"I doubt any girls hate you though," I said. I broke away from his gaze and instead focused on Alex. He seemed to be smiling at something I couldn't understand.

"You said you hated me once," Gary pointed out.

I looked back at him in shock. He seriously believed that? "People say things they don't mean when they're angry."

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Yang," he said simply. With that, he crawled inside his sleeping back and turned his back to me. I slowly lay down. What just happened? All I knew was that I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep for a long time.

When I woke up, I wasn't even aware that I had slept. It was like a second had passed since I first laid my head down. I didn't get up at first. This was because I had just realized that something was wrong. I forced my eyes open to confirm this.

Just as I expected, I was mostly out of my sleeping bag and lying on Gary's chest. I couldn't get up when I tried. Gary's arms were wrapped securely around me. He was still asleep.

Once the initial shock wore off, I relaxed. Gary's body was warm beneath mine. It felt… nice. There was no way around it. I enjoyed this. It felt right. I closed my eyes and listened to his steady heartbeat. For the first time in a long time, I was content.

I don't know how long it was when I finally felt Gary shift. "Rose?" he said groggily.

I looked up at him, immediately unwrapping my arms from his body. How did that happen. "Hi," I said sheepishly. The position we were in would hit him in a moment.

Gary looked down at us and grinned widely. "Well, well, well. I knew you couldn't resist me."

I rolled my eyes. "_You're_ the one who's holding onto me."

Gary blinked as he looked at his arms around my waist. He shrugged. "So I am."

I waited, but he didn't say anything else. "Well?" I asked impatiently.

"Well what?"

I rolled my eyes again. "Aren't you going to let me go?"

Gary smirked. "I don't think I will."

For a second, I wondered what would happen if I just left it at that. What would happen if I gave in and just laid there? I was happy staying where I was. But I knew I couldn't let that happen. I was already in too deep. I was falling in quick sand. I had to get out before it was too late.

I glared at Gary. "Alex!"

My Charmeleon slowly stood up. "Char?" he asked sleepily.

"Ember!" I ordered.

Gary frowned. "Fine." He let go of me and roughly pushed me off of him. I immediately wished he hadn't. I cringed inwardly when I realized I longed to be back in his arms.

I stood up and put my sleeping bag away. I turned to face Gary again. His eyes flickered to the fire pendant around my neck, and he smiled slightly. "Let's go," I said.

He nodded. "Lead the way."

Charmeleon walked out first. I shielded my eyes from the light with my arm. I heard a noise that caused me to look back at Alex. Gary and I both gasped. He was glowing with a bright light! I watched in awe as Alex evolved into a Charizard.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Alex, look at you!" Alex roared in response. I looked at Gary excitedly. "Alex evolved so we can have a way out of here!"

Gary blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"We can ride him!" I said. "We'll be able to find the town in no time."

Gary shook his head. "No way. I'm not riding that thing. Neither of us have any experience. And Alex has never flown before."

I smirked slightly. I knew how to get him to agree. "Is Professor Oak's grandson scared?"

"I am not scared!" Gary said indignantly.

"Prove it," I said. I walked up to Alex. I struggled to get onto his back, but managed to do it. I looked down at Gary. "Come on, you can trust Alex and me. We won't let anything happen to you." I held out my hand to him.

Gary gave me a skeptical look. He finally let out a sigh. "Fine," he gave in. "But if we die, I'm going to kill you." Gary grabbed my hand. I started to pull him up, but a second later something made me let go. His face mirrored mine of shock. I knew he felt that wave of energy go through us too. Gary glared at me a second later. "What'd you do that for?!"

"S-sorry," I said. I swallowed. I held out my hand again. This time I helped him up with no problem. Gary held on tight to my waist, causing me to shiver. I immediately scolded myself. I couldn't think like that. Those feelings were forbidden. I gulped when I remembered what Gary had said the night before.

"Let's go!" I cried. With a powerful swoop of his wings, Alex was in the air. I looked down in awe. The view was amazing!

"There's the town!" Gary pointed out.

Looking closer, I saw a group of familiar people and Pokemon. "Alex, go down." Alex landed in front of Delilah, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Togepi, Brock, the cheerleaders, Jasper, and Blastoise. They looked in shock at the Charizard. I grabbed Gary's hand and we both slid off of him. I let go and grinned at my friends.

"Hello," I said cheerfully.

"Rose!" Delilah exclaimed. "You're ok!"

"You survived a night with Gary alone!" Ash said, a look of relief on his face.

Gary rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Ashy boy, I wouldn't hurt her," he muttered.

Ash ran forward to greet me. I smiled as I hugged him. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Gary glaring at Ash. It annoyed me how quick it was for him to go back to his usual demeanor. I let go and smiled at Ash. He glanced down at my pendant. Delilah looked at it too.

"What happened?" Misty asked.

"I'll tell you all later," I said. "I promise."

"Looks like you don't need me anymore," Gary said. "Come on, girls." He turned to leave.

I hesitated. I couldn't just let him leave like that. "Gary!" I called. He stopped and turned back to look at me. Acting before I had a chance to change my mind, I ran up to him and embraced him. I could tell Gary was surprised, but he awkwardly hugged me back. "Thanks," I whispered. I tilted my head and kissed him on the cheek.

Gary smiled, which soon turned into a smirk. He nodded, turned around, and walked off. I couldn't help but smile after him. I knew my friends were probably gaping in shock, but I was oblivious to that. I was also oblivious to the cheerleaders yelling something at me. At the moment, I was content.


	11. Fear

Chapter 10: Fear

"Alright, what's wrong with you?" Delilah asked as we walked down a road.

I was humming and skipping along. "What ever do you mean?" I questioned innocently.

Delilah gave me a look. "Oh, come on. I'm not stupid. This is the first time you didn't have a nightmare after running into Gary."

I smiled. It was true. My dreams were rather pleasant the other night. "Endorphins," I replied simply.

Delilah smirked. "You actually have hormones? That's a shock!"

I rolled my eyes. "Everyone has them, Delilah."

Delilah's eyes suddenly widened. She was catching on. "Wait!" she said suddenly. "So, you- Gary-" I smiled slyly but didn't say anything. Delilah started to get excited. "You should-"

"No!" I cut her off.

"Well, how about-"

"Nope."

"If you just-"

"No!" I turned around and faced Delilah, blocking her path. I gave her a hard look. "Listen to me, nothing can happen. I'm enjoying this at the moment, but then I'll forget about it. Gary and I have a truce now. That's more than I ever imagined I would get. "

Delilah frowned. "But if you just talk to him-"

I shook my head. "No. I don't want to risk losing what I've just gained. If he comes to me and wants to talk, fine. But I'm not going to be the one to start it. End of story." With that, I turned and started down the path again. I heard Delilah sigh before following me.

"He cares, you know," she said after awhile.

I blinked. "What?" Were we still on the same subject?

"Gary," she said for clarification. "I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but he was really worried about you when you got knocked out in Grandpa Canyon."

I raised my eyebrows. "He was?" That wasn't _too _hard to believe, after what happened last night.

Delilah nodded. "Yeah. He wouldn't let me touch you. He was very… protective." She shrugged. "I think he cares about you but his ego is stopping him from showing it. This truce must be some sort of compromise with himself."

"Interesting theory," I mused. I tried to push my excitement down. I couldn't let my hopes get too high. If I expected little, I wouldn't be let down.

Delilah lost the next contest she was in. She decided to give it one more try at Viridian City. She was feeling pressured because this was probably her last chance. I comforted her as much as I could. Her Oddish evolved into a Gloom. She trained hard with her. I even let her catch a Ponyta that we happened across. She deserved some fire Pokemon too.

1 whole year had passed since we first set out when we finally got to Viridian City. It was interesting to be back there after so long. It would also be interesting when we returned to Pallet Town. I couldn't wait to see my family.

We were heading to the Pokemon center when suddenly we heard voices yelling. It sounded like they were saying, 'Togepi.' I gasped. "Come on!" I pulled Delilah to the direction of the voices. Just as I thought, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock were looking around frantically. "What happened?!"

"I'll tell you what happened," Misty said angrily. "Ash sent Togepi flying and now we can't find it!" Delilah and I gasped. Ash sweat dropped.

"We'll help you find Togepi," Delilah said. Misty smiled slightly at her.

We all turned our attention to two doors where we heard a noise. It sounded like Togepi! "That voice!" Brock said. We heard Togepi calling from the other side of the doors.

"It's Togepi!" Misty exclaimed. We all ran to the doors. Working together, we managed to slowly pull them open. Togepi was there waiting for us. "Togepi!" She picked her up and hugged her. "I was so worried about you. Thank goodness you're safe." I smiled. It was a nice scene.

"I wonder how it got inside," Brock said. I looked up. That's when I noticed we were in the Viridian City gym. My eyes widened at something else I saw. Brock saw the same thing. "Look over there!" Gary and the cheerleaders were sprawled out on the floor. I gasped.

"It's Gary!" Ash exclaimed.

"And the girls," Brock added.

The three of us raced towards the scene. I pushed Ash out of the way to get to Gary first. Ash blinked in confusion at this. "Gary!" I said, sitting him up.

Ash knelt down on his other side. "Gary, wake up!"

Gary slowly opened his eyes. "It's here," he murmured.

"What happened? What's here?" Ash asked.

"A Pokemon that we've never seen," Gary replied. His eyes looked distant, like he was seeing something that we couldn't. "There's something different about this one. This Pokemon's not just powerful, it's evil."

My eyes widened. "Evil?" I repeated. A chill went done my spine.

"There can't be an evil Pokemon," Ash said quietly.

"I can't believe Gary lost!" one of the cheerleaders cried. All of them started wailing. Ash, Brock, and Delilah covered their ears. I rolled my eyes. I ignored them and helped Gary stand up. He still looked troubled.

"Why are you making such a big deal about one lost battle?" Misty demanded.

"Pikachu!" the electric Pokemon put in. The cheerleaders stopped and focused their attention on Misty.

"If I cried like that ever time Ash lost I'd be waterlogged," Misty continued. I smirked slightly. Gary didn't even crack a smile. I frowned. Something was seriously wrong. He was still leaning on me for support. It was like he couldn't stand right.

Ash sweat dropped. "She's only kidding!"

Delilah smirked. "I'm sure."

"One thing's for sure," Gary spoke. He was staring out into space. "No one will ever beat that Pokemon." I wanted to know what had happened to make him act like this. I had never seen Gary that scared before. It worried me.

Suddenly, a female voice chuckled. The gym lights turned on, revealing the battleground. "Who's there?" Ash demanded. Even Gary turned to see what was going on.

"Prepare for trouble," the female voice said.

"And make it double," a male voice added. I let out a groan. I knew where this was going.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"It's them!" Ash cried. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. He always had to point out the obvious.

"Again," Brock added. They must have seen them earlier today.

"Why must you twerps always interrupt us before we get to finish?" Jessie asked angrily.

"We know what you're going to say. It's never any different!" Misty pointed out. I nodded in agreement.

"Ah, but today is very different," Jessie said.

"Something's happened that's going to make you very jealous," James said.

"Let's celebrate!" Meowth exclaimed, popping out of nowhere. I blinked. What were they talking about? "We just got a big promotion! Now we're going to get the respect we deserve." I blinked again. They deserved respect?

"That's right, Meowth," James said happily. "Because the new leaders of this gym are-"

"The three of us!" Jessie finished.

"You guys are gym leaders?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika?"

Jessie smirked. "That's right." She held out a badge. "Just moments ago we were put in charge of this gym and the Earth Badge."

"The Earth Badge!" Ash said in awe. That was when I remembered that he still needed one more badge.

"You mean this gym is controlled by Team Rocket?" Misty said in disbelief.

"Why would they want a gym?" Brock wondered out loud.

"You little tweebs could never understand the complex plans of an organization like Team Rocket," Jessie said.

"Oh yeah? Try us!" Ash challenged.

"They're for us to know and you to find out," James said. "What are they?" I heard him whispered to his partner.

Jessie blinked. She immediately regained her composure. "Those plans are classified information."

"She don't know them either!" Meowth said blatantly. Jessie glared at him and pushed him out of the way.

"But if you want that Earth Badge, you'll have to defeat us," James declared.

"That's just what I'm going to do!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well, step right into the ring we prepared just for you," Jessie said. All of us gasped as too podium-like boxes appeared from the floor at opposite sides of the gym. Jessie laughed wickedly. "Now get into the trainer's box, little boy."

My eyes widened. I had a bad feeling about this. I gently stepped away from Gary to run up to Ash. "Don't do it," I said urgently. "I'll bet it's a trick."

"They must have booby trapped it somehow," Brock agreed.

Misty nodded. "If you have any brains you'll back out now."

"If you run away now you won't get that Earth Badge," James taunted. I shot him a glare. Now I was sure it was a trick.

"Ash…" I said helplessly. I knew it would be no use in the end. He had that determined look in his eyes.

Ash looked back at me. "Don't worry about me," he said. He turned to face Team Rocket. "I'm not running anywhere!" He climbed up onto the podium box. I gulped. This wasn't going to end well.

"Do you think he stands a chance?"

I jumped a little when I heard Gary's voice beside me. I didn't notice that he had come back to my side. I bit my lip. "I-I'm not sure," I stuttered. I let out a sigh. "I sure hope so," I said more softly. Gary nodded.

"We will start with three Pokemon each. No time limit," Jessie said.

"Fine," Ash growled. "Let's battle!"

"All three Pokemon, go!" Jessie let out a Machamp, Kingler, and Rhyhorn. "Ha! This should be a synch."

Ash chose Squirtle. Machamp attacked him with Karate Chop. Squirtle cried out in pain. I quickly look up as I heard Ash cry out too. He was being electrocuted!

"What's that?!" Misty, Brock, Delilah, and I exclaimed.

"Pika pi!"

"Oh, that's one of the custom features here in our gym," James explained. "In the box, the trainer feels all the pain the Pokemon feel."

"Not so eager to battle now, are you?" Jessie taunted.

I glared at them hatefully. "I'll kill them!" I vowed. I tried to race forward, but Delilah held me back.

"I wouldn't provoke them if I were you," she cautioned. I broke away from her grip and shot her an angry look. This wasn't right!

The electricity stopped, and Ash slowly stood up. He called out Bulbasaur. Kingler easily hurt him. Ash got shocked again. I looked around frantically. I didn't feel right to just stand and watch.

"Do something!" I cried to Gary, grabbing onto his arm.

Gary looked at me in surprise. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tell him to give up!" I said.

"Ash!" Gary called. "You can't win! Their Pokemon are too strong!"

"I won't give up," Ash said stubbornly. "I've come too far to quit now."

Gary looked back at me worriedly. "_You _tell him to stop. Maybe he'll listen to you."

I contemplated that for a second. I didn't even have to think to know that it would be no use. I sighed. "I can't," I said in defeat. "I can't tell him to do something that I wouldn't do in his position." We were very similar, Ash and I. We both had that fighting spirit.

Gary looked at me in shock. "Why?"

"Yang," I replied simply. Gary seemed to understand. I looked back at the battle with renewed confidence and determination.

"I trust my Pokemon," Ash said. "We can do it!"

I had to admire his persistence. Apparently Gary did too, for he said in awe, "Maybe he can."

"Go Pidgeotto!" Ash cried. "Quick Attack!" Pidgeotto flew right into Rhyhorn. Sparks appeared at Jessie's feet. Pidgeotto attacked again. Jessie got electrocuted.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"James!" Jessie cried. "Why did you set it up to give shocks on both sides?! Turn it off! Turn it off!"

"I didn't think it would matter," James said defensively. "I didn't think we could lose."

"Luckily I made this little gadget in case we did lose," Meowth said. He was holding a remote control. "All I do is hit the button and, goodbye competition!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Gary cried. "Give me that thing!" He tackled Meowth to the ground. The gadget went flying. I grinned.

"All Pokemon, attack at once!" Jessie called. She let out Arbok and Wheezing.

"You can't use new Pokemon now!" Misty objected. "It's against the rules!"

"I make the rules for this gym," Jessie countered.

"Well, if those are the rules…" Ash trailed off. "Go Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried. He let out a Thundershock. All of Jessie's Pokemon got shocked along with Jessie. Ash's Pokemon cried out in victory. I grinned widely.

"We did it!" Ash exclaimed. "We won the battle!" He hugged his Pokemon.

"Way to go!" I said with a grin, running up to Ash as he stood up. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." Ash pulled back and smiled at me.

"_He's the winner, he's our Ash! Let's all have a victory bash!_" the girls cheered. "_He's the victor, he's our man! No one wins like Ketchum can!_"

I smirked. "That's a nice change of tune." I glanced at Gary. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"Huh, I hate to admit it, but that kid's a pretty good trainer," he said. "But still, no one's ever going to be able to beat the Pokemon that I saw." He looked troubled again. I frowned.

"If it's evil, maybe we should find it and bring it to justice," I suggested.

Gary quickly turned on me and roughly grabbed my shoulders. I winced in pain. "That's out of the question!" His eyes were angry now.

I blinked in surprise. "But wouldn't we be doing the world good if he went after it?"

"That's not the point!" Gary growled. "It's too dangerous. You could get killed!"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, _Dad_." I yanked myself away from him. I had only taken one step when something dawned on me. I suddenly realized the true meaning of Gary's words. I looked back at him in shock.

Gary blinked. "Wha-"

His words were cut off from an explosion in the middle of the gym. I was instantly pulled back by Gary. I gave him a quick glance. I knew my speculations were correct. Delilah was right.

"Oh no!" Team Rocket cried. They were blasted out of the gym.

Ash caught something as it fell. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I finally got my Earth Badge!"

"Piki Pikachu!" Pikachu looked up at the ceiling. "Pika?" I gasped. Pieces of the ceiling were raining down on us.

"The building's collapsing!" Gary cried. "Let's run for it!" I raced outside with him and everyone else. Thankfully, we made it. We all stood and watched as the gym sank to the ground.

I turned to Gary when it was over. "I knew it," I said with a smirk.

Gary blinked in confusion. "Knew what?"

"The truth about you," I said. "You may act like you don't care, but I know you're a good guy, Gary Oak. You can't fool me." My smirk grew into a wide grin at Gary's surprised look. I walked up to Delilah. "Let's go to the Pokemon Center now." She smiled and nodded. "And by the way," I said as we were walking away. "You were right."


	12. The Dance

Chapter 11: The Dance

Delilah won her contest in Viridian City. Now we were both set. It didn't take long to get back to Pallet Town. "Here we are," I said.

"I'm going to go see my family," Delilah said. "See you later."

I nodded as she left. I headed in the direction of my own family. I decided to wait a day before doing anything else. It was nice to just spend time with them again, even if Alice _did _ask pestering questions.

I headed to Professor Oak's lab early the next morning. "Why, hello Rose," he said as he let me in. "How was your journey?"

"Great!" I said with a grin. "I'm here to see my Pokemon and let out the ones I'm currently carrying."

Professor Oak nodded. "You know the way." I tried hard not to think of the reason why that was.

I released all of my Pokemon once I got back outside. "Come on out, guys!" Alex, Sasha, Scout, Tony, Jasper, and Shocks joined the other Pokemon. I smiled as I gazed around.

"Eevee!" Roxy said when she saw me. I grinned and ran over to her.

"Hey Roxy," I said. "How's it going?"

"Eevee," Roxy replied. She looked back over her shoulder. Another Eevee stepped up beside her. They nuzzled each other.

I smiled. How cute. "Aw, you found a friend."

"Eevee!" another voice said. The Eevee's ears perked up. He ran past me straight into Gary's arms. I shot an accusing glance at Roxy. Of all the Eevees she could have chosen to like…

I sighed and looked at Gary. He was smiling and petting Eevee. It was certainly different to see him like this. He really loved his Pokemon. I smiled slightly. This was a cute scene too.

Roxy raced over to them. Eevee jumped out of Gary's arms. He and Roxy stood together, each facing they're trainers. "Eevee," they said together. They glanced at each other and then back at us. I nodded.

"They want us to be friends," I said blatantly.

"I think so," Gary agreed. "Too bad they don't know that's impossible."

I nodded. The Eevees' ears dropped. I didn't ask the silent question I longed to ask… _Why?_

"Rose! Rose! ROSE!" Delilah shouted as she ran into the room. Alice and I were watching TV in the living room. I raised my eyebrows.

"I think she has something to say to you, Rose," Alice said.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for telling me." I stood up to greet my friend.

Delilah was bouncing up and down, grinning. "Rose! Guess what?!" She held up a flyer to my face.

I pushed it away. "What is it?"

"The Annual Pallet Town Pokemon Trainer Dance!" Delilah said excitedly.

"Ooo… I've always wanted to go to that!" Alice said, jumping off from the couch.

I rolled my eyes as I sat down again. "Save your breath, Delilah. I'm not going."

Delilah frowned. "Oh, yes, you are! This is the first year we're eligible!"

I put on a fake smile. "Tell you what, you can go and have fun and come back and tell me how it went." I stood up and attempted to push her out the door.

Delilah turned back to face me. "I don't think so. You're going all right."

"Oh, come on!" I groaned. "You know I hate stuff like this. Besides, I don't want to go with just you."

Delilah thought about this for a second. "Would you go if Ash, Brock, and Misty went?"

I was careful with my next words. "I'd consider it…" Delilah grinned. I knew I had lost. She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door.

"Have fun!" Alice called after us.

Ash blinked. "A dance?"

"Sounds awesome!" Brock exclaimed. "I'll be able to meet all sorts of beautiful girls."

"I don't know," Misty said slowly. "I think it would be fun to go, but I don't have anything wear."

"Don't worry. I'm taking us all shopping," Delilah said reassuringly. I rolled my eyes.

"But I don't want to go to a dance!" Ash objected.

"Me neither!" I said.

"Too bad, you're outnumbered," Delilah pointed out.

"Since when were we voting?" Ash asked.

"Since I said so." She smirked triumphantly. Ash and I groaned. "Let's go shopping!"

I grumbled during the whole trip. Ash wasn't too happy about it either. I don't know why Delilah was doing this to me. She knew this wasn't my thing. "I'll go, but I won't dance with anyone," I mumbled as we got into a store.

"Oh, you'll change your mind when we get there," Delilah insisted.

"You know I don't do well with romance," I said darkly. It was true. I've never really had a crush on a guy. Until… I shook my head. I couldn't let my thoughts go in that direction.

"Me too," Ash piped in.

"We all know that," Misty teased.

Ash glared at her. "I don't see guys lining up to date you!"

"I wish girls would line up to date me," Brock said in a dreamy voice. I chuckled a little at this. You have to love Brock.

Delilah raised her eyebrows. "Ok then…" She looked back at me. "Anything can change. Who knows, you may fall in love at midnight."

I rolled my eyes dramatically. Delilah and her romantic notions. Maybe that was what was causing certain thoughts. It was comforting to think so. "The dance ends at 10," I pointed out.

Delilah shrugged. "So you'll fall in love at 9:59."

Delilah found a dress right away. It was light purple. I'm not good at describing dresses, so I'll move on. Brock found a blue tuxedo. Misty picked out a hot pink dress. Delilah forced Ash to try on a white tux.

"I'm not wearing this," Ash said stubbornly. "Why can't I wear my regular clothes?"

"You're supposed to dress up for a dance," Misty said with a roll of her eyes.

Delilah smiled at Ash. "Aw, you look so handsome. Doesn't he, guys?"

Brock nodded. "Definitely. Not as handsome as me, though."

I smiled slightly. "You look great." Ash seemed to brighten at this. Delilah looked at Misty expectantly.

Misty blinked. "What?" Delilah narrowed her eyes. Misty let out a sigh. "Oh, all right. You look fine, Ash. Just buy it."

"Fine," Ash said reluctantly.

I was dreading what came next. Everyone else had bought something. Ash gave me a sympathetic look. I gulped. The next thing I knew, Delilah pulled me away and had me try out several dresses. The whole process was exhausting.

The last dress I tried on was a long, red one. It wasn't low-cut and it had short sleeves. My fire pendent still clung to my neck. I frowned as I looked in the mirror. I didn't like dresses.

"Ooo… This one looks great!" Delilah squealed. "Come show everyone else!"

My eyes widened. "I am not coming out!"

"Oh, don't be a party pooper." Delilah forcefully dragged me out of the dressing room into the view of Brock, Misty and Ash. They all stared at me.

Ash blinked. "I've never seen you in a dress before. It's weird." I shot him a look. "But good weird! I like it," he said nervously.

I smirked. "Thanks."

"You look amazing!" Brock cooed. I blushed slightly.

Misty smiled and nodded. "It looks good on you."

Delilah grinned. "I knew you guys would like it." She turned to me. "Take it off so we can buy it." I groaned as I trudged back into the dressing room. I glanced over my shoulder. Ash was still staring at me, as if dazed.

"Maybe this dance won't be so bad after all," I heard him say.

The day of the dance finally came. I did a lot of training in between. Delilah wanted to do something to my hair, but I resisted. She finally settled at sticking a rose in my hair. I rolled my eyes at this. Delilah was too cheesy sometimes.

Because of my uncooperativeness, we didn't arrive early like Delilah and Brock had wanted. The place looked pretty full. I scanned my eyes through the crowd to see who was there.

"Looking for someone?" Delilah teased.

I shot her a look. "No!" I retorted.

Delilah smirked. "Right."

I sighed when I realized the song playing was a slow song. "Please tell me they're going to play some fast songs tonight."

"I wouldn't know," Delilah said, smiling innocently. But the look on her face told me she _did_ know. I groaned in response. "Well, I gotta go find someone to dance with. Bye!" She was gone before I could get another word in.

I glanced back at my friends. Brock had disappeared too. It was just Misty, Ash and me. Ash looked as intimidated about the dance as I was.

"Well, Ash, aren't you going to ask one of us to dance?" Misty asked.

Ash blinked. "Oh, right," he mumbled. He turned to me. "Rose?"

"Sure," I said cheerfully. I smirked at Misty. "I win." She muttered something I couldn't hear.

Ash and I walked out onto the dance floor together. We were both completely lost, so we watched the other couples. I tentatively took Ash's left hand. I placed my left hand on his shoulder and his put his right hand on my waist. We slowly swayed to the music.

Eventually we got the hang of it. I actually kind of enjoyed myself. It was nice doing it for the first time with someone who was as clueless about dancing as I was. I think it made both of us less nervous. It also helped that we were such good friends.

That got me thinking, was that all Ash saw me as? I was no romance expert like Delilah, but I had been noticing some things. The way he looked at me was somehow different than it was before. But maybe it was just Delilah again, putting thoughts in my head. I didn't like him like that, so it didn't matter, right?

We dropped our arms when the song stopped. "That was nice," Ash said softly. I nodded.

"Hey, Rose, is it?" I heard a voice say. I turned around to see Edward, a Pokemon trainer that had left a few years back.

"That's right," I said with a small smile.

"How about a dance?" he asked. He looked back at Ash. "If your boyfriend's okay with it, that is." I froze.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ash sputtered.

Edward smiled. "I guess it's all right then." He took my hand and we started dancing. It took a minute for me to adjust. Just because you danced with someone didn't mean you were together. And just because you were friends didn't mean that either. Silly people.

Edward let me go after one dance. I gazed around, waiting for someone to approach me. I smiled when I saw someone I knew. I trotted up to Professor Oak, who was standing by the punch table. He looked quite different. He was wearing a black tuxedo instead of his usual white lab coat.

"Hello Professor," I said with a grin.

"Oh, hello Rose," he greeted me. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, well, Delilah forced me to come," I admitted. "She forced Ash too."

"Ash is here?" I nodded. "Are you enjoying yourself at least?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. I've only had two dances." Suddenly a question popped into my mind. I tried to push it down, but it was no use. I finally gave up. "Hey, is Gary here." Something made me spin around.

"Hello, Rosie."


	13. It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Chapter 12: It's All Coming Back to Me Now

"Hello, Rosie."

I gasped as I spun around. It was Gary! He too was wearing a black tux. It suited him well. Gary checked out my attire too. He stopped at the fire pendent around my neck. He smirked as he looked up at me.

"Speechless, huh?" He looked over my shoulder at Professor Oak. "Do you mind if I steal her, Gramps?"

Professor Oak nodded. "Go right ahead."

Before I knew what was happening, Gary grabbed my hand and led me onto the dance floor. I shivered when he placed his hand on my waist. We were already dancing when what had just happened finally registered. "Hey! You didn't even ask me," I said in protest.

Gary smirked. "It's a little too late for that."

So many questions were swimming through my head. "Why are you here?" I asked skeptically.

"Why shouldn't I go to my own town's dance?" he asked.

I frowned. "That's not what I meant. Why are you dancing with me?"

"Because I want to," Gary said with a twisted grin. I growled in frustration. So, that's how he was going to play… Suddenly, Gary leaned in closer. "By the way," he whispered in my ear. "You look beautiful tonight."

I looked down as I blushed. This wasn't fair! I had to say something in response. "Just because I'm in a dress?" I remembered all the times he had insulted me because of my tomboyishness.

"No, I always thought that," Gary said. I blinked in surprise. He smirked. "I just like teasing you."

"I hate you," I muttered.

Gary looked amused. "You're just saying that because you're mad at me."

"Crap." I should never have told him that. I lost my credibility. "You're unfair."

"I love you too."

Something about the way he said that made me shudder. It shouldn't matter, really. People said that all the time. Neither of us said anything for awhile. We just let the music carry us away.

"On the subject of why I'm dancing with you," Gary suddenly said. I perked up to listen. "Why did _you_ accept?"

I frowned. That wasn't what I wanted him to say. "I never really had a choice, did I?"

Gary smirked. "True." The song ended. I dropped my arms and turned to leave. Gary grabbed my arm, making me turn back to face him. "But you have a choice now." He let go of my arm and held out his hand.

My heart skipped a beat. How much meaning would this simple choice have? Sure, I wanted to dance with him. And it sure looked like he wanted to dance with me. I couldn't find any reason against it, so I took his hand.

Gary grinned and pulled me close to him. I squeaked in surprise. There wasn't much space between us now. "I thought so," he murmured.

Gary wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close to him. I awkwardly hung my arms around his neck. I closed my eyes part way. This was nice. It was very different from dancing with Ash. It was a no-brainer which one I preferred. I smiled as I breathed in his scent. Why did I want to object to this anyway? I couldn't remember.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

I recognized the voice as Ash's. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. He always had great timing. I felt Gary tense. "We're dancing, what does it look like we're doing?" he sneered. From the way he was holding me, I couldn't see Ash's face. But I could imagine. Gary wouldn't let me go.

"Get away from her," Ash growled.

The next thing I knew, Gary was torn away from me. I blinked in surprise as Ash and Gary stepped to the side and started arguing. "I was dancing with her," Gary retorted.

"Well, maybe I want to dance with her," Ash responded.

"Maybe she doesn't want to dance with you," Gary said.

I stopped paying attention to the argument after that. I was too shocked to think right. I saw Delilah skip up to me with a smile. She frowned when she saw the boys. "What are they arguing about now?" She rolled her eyes.

"Me," I replied, stunned. That was the only conclusion that made sense. I had two guys fighting over me. Wow.

"Oh, this is so romantic!" Delilah squealed.

I shot her a look. "Shut it." Now I was able to think. I angry stepped in between Ash and Gary, pushing them both back.

"Hey!" they cried in surprise.

"Oh, don't give me that," I said. "What do you think you're doing? You're arguing over me like I'm a gym badge," They glanced down. "How about letting me choose?" Their heads snapped up.

"Alright, choose then," Gary said.

"Go ahead," Ash said confidently.

"This will be good," Delilah put in.

I hesitated. Who _should_ I chose? I knew Gary's motivations for wanting to dance with me were likely way different from Ash's. Should I go with the one I love or the one who loves me? It felt like my decision on this would set the stones for everything in the future. I couldn't deal with that right now.

"Both," I said quickly. "I choose you both. I'll switch off every two dances."

Delilah sighed. "_Rose!_ That's not what you're supposed to do."

Gary crossed his arms and turned away. "Fine by me."

Ash did the same. "Me too."

"I danced with Gary last, so it's Ash's turn now," I said.

"Come on." Ash angrily grabbed my hand and pulled me away. He hadn't calmed down much when we started dancing. "I can't believe Gary," he growled. He looked up into my eyes. His face softened. "Don't listen to anything he says. He's just playing tricks. Don't let him fool you. He doesn't care about you like I do."

"I know," I said softly. Well, the last part I didn't agree with. But the rest made sense. What were Gary's motivations in this? The most logical explanation was that he was extending his competition with Ash to me. I was just about the only thing that Ash had that Gary didn't. Never mind the fact that it was his fault in the first place… I let my thoughts drop at that.

Ash reluctantly let me go at the end of his allotted two songs. In a second I was dancing with Gary. I noticed the song that started to play. "Good, this is a long one," he muttered. After a minute, I decided to test my luck again.

_There were nights when the wind was so cold  
That my body froze in bed  
If I just listened to it  
Right outside the window_

"Is the only reason you want to dance with me to make Ash jealous?" I asked. For some reason, I feared the answer.

"That's definitely part of it," Gary said.

I glowered. "You're doing it again," I said angrily.

Gary smirked. "Sorry." His face turned serious, as if he were thinking. "I also don't think he's right for you. You're too similar."

_There were days when the sun was so cruel  
That all the tears turned to dust  
And I just knew my eyes were  
Drying up forever_

I raised my eyebrows. "So you think he likes me?"

"It's pretty obvious," Gary said matter-of-factly. "That's how it seems."

I considered this for a moment. He was probably right. Crap. "It would also seem that you like me," I ventured.

Gary raised his eyebrows. "Point taken."

_I finished crying in the instant that you left  
And I can't remember where or when or how  
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made_

This just made me more frustrated. I wasn't getting what I wanted. "Why can't you ever give me a clear answer?" I asked, glaring at the ground.

"That wouldn't be any fun," Gary snickered. I looked up to aim my glare at him. He just chuckled. He leaned in to whisper in my ear again. "Just admit that you want me."

_But when you touch me like this  
And you hold me like that  
I just have to admit  
That it's all coming back to me_

I shivered. "Oh, please," I scoffed. "You're way too egotistical for your own good. And a jerk." An egotistical jerk, that's what he was. An egotistical jerk that was dead on. I shivered again. The thought scared me. This couldn't be happening to me.

_When I touch you like this  
And I hold you like that  
It's so hard to believe but  
It's all coming back to me  
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)_

"You'll come around one day," Gary assured me. He smirked at my even glare. "You know it's true."

I was forced to look down at the floor because I couldn't hold the glare any longer. I let my face drop. He was doing this on purpose, I swore it. He was making me fall in love with him. Yes, I admit it. I was falling in love with him and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

_There were moments of gold  
And there were flashes of light  
There were things I'd never do again  
But then they'd always seemed right  
There were nights of endless pleasure  
It was more than any laws allow  
Baby Baby_

"Unless you would prefer to be with Ash boy," Gary went on. "Tell me, what is your relationship with him?"

I flushed. How was this any of his business? "Ash and I are… just friends," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I _don't_ like him."

Gary looked thoughtful. "Good," he said at last, smiling mysteriously.

_If I kiss you like this  
And if you whisper like that  
It was lost long ago  
But it's all coming back to me_

I knew I wouldn't get an answer out of him by plainly asking why. That was too easy. I decided on a different approach. "I think I might accept if he asks me out though," I said as if it were no big deal.

Gary's eyes flashed. "Why?"

_If you want me like this  
And if you need me like that  
It was dead long ago  
But it's all coming back to me_

I shrugged. "I'm not going to ever have another chance at romance," I explained. "I care about Ash as a friend, so that should be enough. It's nice to have someone care about you that way."

Gary narrowed his eyes at me. "That would be a bad idea," he snarled.

I smirked. I was getting somewhere. "Why?"

_It's so hard to resist  
And it's all coming back to me  
I can barely recall  
But it's all coming back to me now  
But it's all coming back_

"I already told you. You're too similar," Gary retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "We can work around that. We're friends, so it won't be that hard." Gary scowled. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go out with him.

Gary looked away. "I just don't think you two are good together."

I raised my eyebrows. He had no reason? "I said a _good _reason. Tell me or I'm asking him out." My heart thudded in my chest. I knew I was getting closer to the truth.

"Fine! Ask him out then!" Gary exclaimed. "See if I care." He dropped his arms and turned away.

"No!" I said a little too quickly.

Gary looked back, smirking. "You're playing games, huh?" I flushed. He returned his hands to their places. He seemed to have calmed down now. I let a small sigh escape. This wasn't exactly going as planned.

_There were those empty threats and hollow lies  
And whenever you tried to hurt me  
I just hurt you even worse  
And so much deeper_

"So, how did Delilah get you to come," Gary asked casually. He was once again expressing his knowledge about me. He knew I would never go to a dance unless I was forced to.

"She kind of trapped me into a corner," I admitted. "She has this crazy idea of love and romance. She thinks I'm going to fall in love at 9:59."

Gary chuckled. He glanced up. "You've got a little over an hour to go." He smirked. I tried to hide my blush. "What else did Delilah say?"

_There were hours that just went on for days  
When alone at last we'd count up all the chances  
That were lost to us forever_

I thought back to what Delilah had told me when we were shopping. "She was just telling me about love," I said with a roll of my eyes. "She said something about love being the strongest force we have; that nothing can defeat it."

"Delilah's a smart girl," Gary commented.

I looked at him in surprise. "You believe that?"

"Sure," Gary said with a small nod. "If you find the right person."

_But you were history with the slamming of the door  
And I made myself so strong again somehow  
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then_

Something about the way he said that sent shivers down my spine. My earlier frustration returned to me. "Can you be direct with me just this once?" Gary looked surprised at my sudden harsh tone. "First you say we can't be friends, but now you're fighting with Ash to dance with me. What's about? And don't weasel around the question this time."

Gary kept my gaze for a moment. He finally looked away. "Fine," he said hesitantly. "You already know too much. I might as well tell you."

_But if I touch you like this  
And if you kiss me like that  
It was so long ago  
But it's all coming back to me_

"First, let me ask you this," Gary said. He looked up into my eyes again. "What do _you_ think?"

I blinked in surprise. I wasn't expecting that. "Well…" I said slowly. "Delilah said you care about me, but your ego is getting in the way of you showing that."

"I wouldn't say it that way, but that's the basic idea," Gary said.

_If you touch me like this  
And if I kiss you like that  
It was gone with the wind  
But it's all coming back to me  
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)_

I frowned. "So you think you're too good for me."

"That's what I thought at first," Gary said with a nod. "I thought that for a long time. That's mostly why I left you in the first place." So now the truth comes out… Surprisingly, it wasn't as painful to hear this as I thought it would be. We were finally talking about the past and I was relatively calm.

"But after we started our journeys, I realized I _do_ still care about you," Gary went on. My heart leapt at this. "I couldn't figure out why. Maybe our initial bond was too strong to break. I'm in too deep." I nodded as he echoed my very same thoughts. We were both stuck.

_There were moments of gold  
And there were flashes of light  
There were things we'd never do again  
But then they'd always seemed right  
There were nights of endless pleasure  
It was more than all your laws allow  
Baby, Baby, Baby_

"Maybe it's not that I'm better than you," Gary said thoughtfully. "We're just in different worlds. You're nice, kind, honest…" I smiled. "And I'm, well, me. I don't think it's possible for us to be together. But that doesn't mean I don't care." He glanced down as he said, "I miss you."

My heart caught in my throat. This couldn't be happening to me. It was unbelievable. He cared. He really cared. "I miss you too," I said softly.

_When you touch me like this  
And when you hold me like that  
It was gone with the wind  
But it's all coming back to me_

Gary looked up again. His eyes were full of sorrow and regret. "But forget about that now," he said. "Let's forget about the past and the future and focus on the present." He pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. I hugged his waist. "What are you feeling?" he whispered.

_When you see me like this  
And when I see you like that  
Then we see what we want to see  
All coming back to me_

I closed my eyes as I rested my head on Gary's chest. I could only think of one word that could describe what I was feeling right now. "Happy," I murmured. I have probably never been happier in my life.

"Me too," Gary said. "Let's focus on that. Is it enough?"

"For now," I said.

_The flesh and the fantasies  
All coming back to me  
I can barely recall  
But it's all coming back to me now_

"Good," Gary softly said. "Don't talk anymore. Just listen… and feel."

I silently agreed. Nothing could replace what I was feeling right now. Gary and I silently danced to the music. I now focused more on the words that I heard. I was surprised at how real they seemed.

_If you forgive me all this  
If I forgive you all that  
We forgive and forget  
And it's all coming back to me  
When you see me like this  
And when I see you like that  
We see just what we want to see  
All coming back to me  
The flesh and the fantasies  
All coming back to me  
I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now_

Forgiveness; that sounded nice. Maybe someday that would be possible. Maybe someday I could be this happy every day. I quickly shoved the thoughts from my mind. Gary said to focus on the present. The present…

_(It's all coming back to me now)  
And when you kiss me like this  
(It's all coming back to me now)  
And when I touch you like that  
(It's all coming back to me now)  
If you do it like this  
(It's all coming back to me now)  
And if we_

The music stopped. Gary and I stopped dancing, but we still stood there, holding each other as we waited for the next song to start.

"It's my turn," I heard Ash say impatiently. I frowned in frustration. I didn't even bother to open my eyes.

"It's only been one song," Gary protested.

"But it was a long one," Ash countered.

"Ash, shove off," I said in annoyance. He didn't say anything after that. I felt Gary's arms tighten around me as the next song started up. I smiled.

I continued to switch off between Gary and Ash throughout the night. By chance, the last dance of the night was with Gary. I held onto him as I savored the little time we had left together. There was no denying it now. I was deeply in love with him. I glanced at the clock. 9:59. Stupid Delilah.

Once the song was over, Gary leaned back and stared into my eyes. I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to kiss him. It looked like he was about to say something, but then he stopped. He leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips against my forehead. "Good night, Rose," he whispered.

"Good night, Gary," I breathed. He let go of me and turned to leave. I instantly felt colder. He smirked as he looked back at me before walking away. I was left to stare after him, my mouth half open.

"Good riddance," Ash muttered. I didn't look away.

"Rose," Delilah said from beside me. "Rose?"

I suddenly snapped out of it and turned to look at me friend. "Yes?"

Delilah got one look at me before smirking mysteriously. "Nothing."

I shrugged and looked back at the last place Gary had been. Wow.


	14. The Four Elements

Chapter 13: The Four Elements

Delilah had the good sense not to start bugging me until the next day. The dance hadn't turned out how I thought it would. I enjoyed it, but I think it left me worse off than ever. I think it was easier when I thought that he hated me.

I was in the kitchen eating lunch with Alice when she came. I looked up from the table when Delilah skipped in. I shot her a warning glance, but I knew nothing was going to stop what was coming.

"So, Alice, did your sister tell you anything about the dance last night?" Delilah asked casually. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"No," Alice said glumly. "She won't crack." A smirk suddenly spread across her face. "Something good must have happened." I let my head fall into my arms. I groaned.

"Oh, it did," Delilah said reassuringly.

I stood up abruptly. "Delilah, _no_." I said firmly. She frowned. "Alice doesn't need to know what happened."

"Yes, I do!" Alice objected, starting to stand up. I shot her a glare and she immediately sat back down.

I swung back to face Delilah. "If you want to talk, talk to me outside," I said through my teeth. She looked bewildered as I walked around the table and headed outside. I turned to face her once she was out as well. I took in a deep breath to calm myself. I didn't know what she was going to say, so I didn't have a reason to be angry yet. "Ok," I said slowly. "Talk."

Delilah grinned, her face immediately brightening up. I was doomed. "I told you the dance would be great, didn't I?" she said excitedly. "You and Gary are _so _cute together. I know half the time it looked like you wanted to kill him, but the other half…" she cut her self off and sighed dreamily.

"Alright, listen," I said. "Gary is not my friend or anything more. Anything you saw last night was a one-time thing. Just pretend it didn't happen. It doesn't matter."

Delilah frowned slightly. "But-" she began to protest, but I cut her off.

"It was his decision, not mine."

"Oh," Delilah said. I could hear the disappointment in her voice. She spoke softly this time. "It just seems that he likes you."

I sucked in a breath. Yes, it did. And that made everything so much harder. "Maybe," I agreed reluctantly.

"And you like him…" Delilah ventured.

That did it. "That doesn't matter!" I snapped. "None of it matters. Nothing is going to happen between me and Gary, so you can just forget about playing matchmaker and focus on your training like we both should be!" I crossed my arms and turned away from her angrily. I knew I shouldn't be mad at her, but it was hard not to be.

"What are you going to do about Ash, then?" Delilah asked, unphased.

I spun around to face her. "Don't you even talk to me about Ash!" As if I didn't have enough to think about. How did I get into this mess?

"What about Ash?" a different voice said quietly.

I turned to see Misty standing there. "Hello Misty," Delilah said, suddenly beaming. I took a deep breath and put on a fake smile.

"Never mind," I said. "It doesn't matter."

Misty blinked. "Oh. Well, can I talk to you for a minute, Rose?"

I was surprised by this request, but I nodded. "Sure thing." I let her lead me away from my house. I was glad for the chance to get away from Delilah and her probing questions. But I wondered what Misty could want. I had never talked to her one-on-one before.

When we were a good distance away from the house, Misty stopped and turned to face me. "I actually wanted to talk to you about Ash," she said awkwardly.

I immediately put my guard up. "Ok…" I said slowly and cautiously.

"He likes you," she said bluntly.

I blinked and then shrugged. I didn't expect anything else. "I figured that."

"And you don't like him," Misty concluded. My eyes widened in surprise. She smiled slightly. "I saw you at the dance. I'm not blind," I bit my lip. "And I talked to Delilah." I shot her a look. "Sorry, I was curious."

I narrowed my eyes at her, suddenly suspicious. "Are you sure that's _all_ it was?"

Misty took a step back. "W-what do you mean?" She was obviously taken back by my question.

A smirk slowly spread across my face. I had a hunch. "Nothing," I said innocently. "I was just thinking… _You _don't like Ash, do you?"

"No!" Misty said quickly. A little _too _quickly in my opinion. "Why would you think that?"

My smirk widened. "I'm not blind," I said, repeating her words.

Misty folded her arms and stared at me angrily. "That's not important. What I wanted to know was is if you are planning on telling him you're not interested."

I frowned as the conversation turned back to me. "I'm not going to go up and tell him," I said. "I don't want to make anything awkward if I don't have to. If he decides to tell me himself, _then _I'll let him down gently."

Misty nodded. "Ok, good. That's all I wanted to know."

I couldn't help but add, "And you'll be free to ask him out yourself."

Misty glared at me. "Rose!"

I grinned. "Sorry." I couldn't blame Delilah anymore. This was fun! "I'll see you later then," I said with a chuckle. Misty nodded, and we departed.

I wasn't sure where I was headed. I just kept walking. I was confused when I stopped and knocked on a door. I grimaced when I realized I was at Professor Oak's lab. Why did my subconscious bring me here?

I didn't have time to think about it. The next minute the door opened. "Hello Rose," Professor Oak said in surprise. "I'm sorry, but Gary isn't here right now."

I narrowed my eyes slightly at the jump to conclusions. "No, I, uh, wanted to talk to you," I said lamely. I started racking my brain for ideas. I knew there was _something_ I had been wanted to ask him.

"Oh. Come on in." I continued thinking as I walked inside. "Tea?" I nodded and sat down at the kitchen table. That's when it clicked. I knew what I would talk about.

Professor Oak sat down across from me after setting water to boil. He folded his hands and looked at me curiously. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

"Yin and yang," I replied. He looked startled by the mention of the subject. "Gary told me about it once." I thought back to the night in the cave. I couldn't remember the parts I _should _be remembering right now. "He said you gave him that pendant."

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, I did. What more do you want to know?"

This was the awkward part. I had to struggle to put my thoughts into words. "The part about people," I began slowly. "He said something about everyone having someone that they're meant to be with. Like…" I searched for the right words. "Opposites attract?"

Professor Oak nodded again. "I know what you're talking about." I smiled in relief, relaxing a bit. A whistling sound was heard, signifying that the water was boiling. The professor got up and went to the table. He continued talking to me with his back turned towards me. "It's not as simple as people who are yin and yang coming together. There can be a yin and a yang that aren't really opposites, but would still work out. There are really two yins and two yangs. Not all the yins work with all the yangs." At this point he turned and walked back to the table, holding two mugs. "Are you getting this so far?"

I sweat dropped. "Not really," I admitted. "You kind of lost me."

Professor Oak chuckled as he sat back down and handed me a mug. "I've got a better way to describe it. Do you know what the four elements are?"

I blinked. "Elements? You mean like fire and water?"

He nodded curtly. "Yes. Fire, water, earth and air. Each person can be categorized by one of these elements. A person who is fire is full of passion and emotion. They are very exciting and outgoing. They are natural born leaders who can be a bit controlling. One of their major weaknesses is their temper. They find it hard not to lash out at people when they're angry. They're not quick to forgive and can hold grudges for a long time."

I nodded. I didn't say anything, but I thought this was a fair description of me. I waited to hear about the rest.

"Someone who associates with water is exactly the opposite," Professor Oak went on. "They are very easygoing people. They don't sweat the small stuff and can remain calm in even the most stressful situations. You can't easily bring them down. They're excellent at controlling their emotions, unlike the fire element. At their worst, they're lazy and unmotivated. At their best, they're able to bring people together through compromise.

"The last two elements, earth and air, are also opposites. People who are earth are planners and strategists. They are realistic and very logical. They, too, are able to remain calm and think through everything before making a decision. Their weakness is that, like the fire, they often overlook people's feelings in favor of reason.

"That brings us to the last element: air. These people don't like arguments and will go to great lengths to avoid confrontation. They prefer to focus on having fun and living life to the fullest. They are very easygoing, like water. It's very easy to please them. They're helpful and optimistic. Generally, they're very happy people."

I nodded. So, those were the elements. My brain worked overtime as it tried to process all of this information.

"Now, which element do you think you are?" Professor Oak asked calmly.

"Well," I began hesitantly. I had aspects of every one of them, but I founding myself having more in the 'fire' category.

"Of course, no one is ever just one," Professor Oak said quickly. "We're all unique and different. We're a mix of a few. But there's always a dominant element."

I nodded again. That made sense. "I think I'm fire," I finally said.

"I think so, too," the professor agreed. "I believe your friend Ash is also of this type. Delilah, I would say, is air."

"What are you?" I asked curiously.

"Earth," he replied with a hint of a smile. "And I think Gary is water."

I blinked in surprise. "Really?" that thought hadn't occurred to me.

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, think back."

I zoomed through my memories to try and see what he meant. I gasped when I realized he was right. Gary was always calm, cool, and collected when he talked to me. I was the one who always freaked out. I had only seen him caught off guard maybe once.

"You see?" Professor Oak said, snapping me back to reality.

"Wait," I said, finding my voice again. "So, Delilah is going to marry someone like you and I'm going to end up with someone like Gary?" My heart quickened its pace.

"Someone like him, yes, that's a possibility," Professor Oak said. I scowled at the hidden meaning of his words. "In theory fire and water go together and earth and air go together. But in reality, this doesn't always happen. It's very possible for fire and earth or a combination like that to work out. It's rare, and very hard, for people of the same element to work out, especially two fires."

I nodded. So, that's what Gary was talking about last night. He must know a lot about the elements. I suddenly began to doubt his intentions. Did he just like me because our elements were compatible?

"I'm not just talking about romantic issues either," Professor Oak went on. "This works just as well with friendships. Even if love isn't a factor, having a friendship with someone of the opposite element is a very rewarding experiences. You always gain the most out of those friendships."

He looked at me critically now. I had to glance away. "That's why I always thought it was great when you and Gary hung out," he said. "I seriously urge you to consider opening up your friendship again."

I sighed. Didn't everyone? "It's not that easy," I tried to explain. "It's him. He doesn't want to."

Professor Oak considered me for a second. He finally nodded. "Just keep that in mind."

"Grandpa?" a voice in another room said.

"Well, there Gary is now," Professor oak said. I gritted my teeth.

"Where you talking about me?" Gary was leaning against the doorframe, smirking.

I rolled my eyes. "No," I responded before Professor Oak could say anything. "Not that it's any of your business." I stood up. "Thanks for the tea." I smiled at the professor before looking up at Gary. I tried to read his face. He looked indifferent.

"What were you doing here, Rosie?" Gary asked casually as I headed towards him. He smirked again. "Looking for me."

I scowled. "I said it's none of your business." I looked back at Professor Oak, who raised his eyebrows at me. I glanced at Gary, suddenly getting an idea. "You know, I had this crazy dream last night," I began.

Gary smirked again. "Was it about me?"

"Actually, it was," I said. "Delilah forced me to go to the dance. And then-" I forced a laugh. Gary was looking at me oddly at this point. "And then I danced with you the whole night. Crazy, huh? Like that could ever happen." I smirked.

Gary narrowed his eyes at me. "Get out," he growled.

"It'd be my pleasure," I said with an innocent smile. I strutted past him and walked towards the door. Once I was outside, I let out a sigh of relief. I had learned two things: last night wasn't a dream; and Gary _did_ like me.


	15. Fire vs Water

Chapter 14: Fire vs. Water

I trained hard during the next couple of months. I had little distraction from Gary or anyone else. This changed one day a week before the Pokemon Tournament. I was taking a break talking with Delilah, Ash, Misty, and Brock. We were having so much fun laughing together that I didn't notice anyone approach us until he spoke.

"Rose."

My eyes immediately flicked up to his face. Ash tensed beside me. "It's Gary," he growled.

Gary ignored Ash. His eyes were on me. I gulped. What did he want now? "Are you up for a Pokemon match, Rose?" he asked casually, as if it were no big deal.

I blinked. "A Pokemon match?" I was feeling a little slow today.

"I'll battle you," Ash growled.

Gary rolled his eyes. "Like I would waste my time battling a loser like you. I want to battle Rose, and no one else."

I nodded once, determination crossing my face. "You're on."

"I'll be the referee," Brock announced.

"It'll be three on three," Gary said.

I nodded and took my place opposite of him. My friends stood on the side with Brock. Gary nodded for me to start. I thought for a second about who I was currently carrying with me. I took out a Pokeball and threw it. "Go Scout!"

"Wow, a Farfetch'd!" Ash exclaimed.

Gary didn't look phased. "In that case, go Electabuzz!" The striped electric Pokemon appeared. I gritted my teeth. This would be difficult.

"Scout, Slash!" I issued. Scout flew up and came charging down towards Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz, Thundershock!" Gary said.

"Dodge it!" I said quickly. Scout barely got out of the way of the lightning attack. "Sand Attack!" Scout flew low to the ground and spew sand at Electabuzz. While it was distracted, I said, "Now, Furry Attack!" I grinned as Scout's wings made contact with Electabuzz. "Peck!"

"Thunder Punch!" Gary cried. Before Scout could strike, Electabuzz knocked him back with a powerful punch. "Finish it off with Thundershock!"

"Dodge it!" I called. But it was too late. Scout was too hurt to get out of the way of the attack.

"Scout is unable to battle," Brock said. "Electabuzz wins."

"Return." I took out another Pokeball. I would not be giving up easily. "Jasper!"

"Ivysaur."

I grinned. "Tackle!"

"Quick Attack!" Gary ordered. The two Pokemon struck in the middle. Neither seemed to come out on top. "Thundershock!"

"Dodge it and use razor leaf!" Jasper dashed out of the way. He rounded on Electabuzz and sent sharp leaves at it. "Now, Vine whip!"

"Thundershock, again!" Electabuzz prepared to attack as Jasper's vines hit him.

"Grab it and throw it!" I called. Before Electabuzz could attack, Jasper picked it up and threw it across the field. "Leech seed!" Electabuzz struggled as vines surrounded it. It finally fell still. I glanced at my friends and grinned.

"Electabuzz can't battle. Jasper wins," Brock said with a smile.

"Come on out, Magmar!" Gary said. "Fire Spin!"

"Dodge it!" I called. Jasper quickly got out of the way. "Poison Powder!" A gold mist surrounded Magmar. "Now use Tackle!"

"Dodge it!" Gary cried. Magmar didn't have time to react. It took a direct hit.

"Razor Leaf!" I said.

"Ember!" The leaves were burned by Magmar's flames. "Confuse Ray!" I gritted my teeth as Jasper stumbled around. "Flamethrower!" Jasper was thrown back by the force of the attack.

"Jasper is out," Brock said with less enthusiasm than before. "Magmar is the winner."

I called Jasper back. Time for my number one Pokemon. "Go Alex!" I cried. The Charizard was released and flew into the air with a mighty roar. "Flamethrower!"

"You use Flamethrower too, Magmar," Gary ordered. The two fire attacks struck each other. I watched anxiously as neither gained much ground. Finally, Alex forced his Flamethrower attack farther out and made Magmar stumble over.

"Yes!" I said. "Wing Attack!"

"Fire Punch!" Gary countered. Both fire Pokemon took damage at the combined attacks. "Leer!"

"Dragon Rage!" A huge tornado of fire swirled towards Magmar. It hit it and sent it flying. It crashed into a tree and was immediately knocked out.

"Magmar is unable to battle. Alex wins," Brock declared.

"Magmar, return," Gary mumbled. He looked up at me and smirked. "Let's see you take on my strongest Pokemon. Blastoise, let's go!"

"Blastoise!" the huge turtle declared.

Alex glanced back at me. "We can win this," I whispered.

"Alright, Blastoise, Water Gun!" Gary said.

"Dodge it!" I cried. Alex quickly flew out of the way. "Ember!"

"Withdraw!" Gary called. Blastoise retreated inside its shell. Alex's flamed harmlessly hit the shell. "Rapid Spin!" Blastoise spun around. Water shot out of the holes in its shell.

"Dodge!" Alex moved quickly out of the way of the water.

"Rose is using Alex's speed to avoid Blastoise's water attacks," Brock mused.

"Use Hydro Pump," Gary ordered. Blastoise popped out and sprayed water at Alex. Alex dodged this too.

I grinned. That was right. Alex and I had worked on speed attacks together. I knew it would be useful. "Quickly use Slash!"

"Try to get it wet!" Gary ordered. Alex wove his way around the water attacks as it neared Blastoise. He managed to slash it right across the back of its neck. "Throw it back with Flamethrower!" Alex turned and aimed his fire at Blastoise.

"Dodge!" Gary cried. Blastoise was hit by the fire.

"Blastoise is too slow," Brock commented. "Speed is a great strategy."

"Alright, time for Seismic Toss!" I exclaimed. We had been working hard to perfect this powerful attack. Alex flew towards Blastoise.

"Use Bubble to slow it down!" Gary commanded. Bubbles hit Alex, but he kept going on. "Now use Skull Bash!" Blastoise jumped up and flung itself towards Alex. Alex tried to fly up, but it wasn't quick enough due to the Bubble attack. Blastoise's head slammed hard into his stomach. Alex fell to the ground with a roar.

"Get up!" I said. Alex struggled to stand.

"Bite!" Gary issued a new attack. Blastoise was close enough that it was able to bite into Alex's back, making him roar again. "Now, Hydro Pump!"

"Dragon Rage!" I cried. Blastoise's water hit the fire tornado, slowing it down. Both attacks created an explosion. When the smoke cleared, I saw that both Pokemon were still standing. But both were panting heavily.

"Rain Dance!" Gary said. He smirked at me. "You won't be able to get away from this one." Blastoise shot a jet of water into the air. The water fell down as rain. I stepped back as a drop hit me. Alex growled in pain.

"Smokescreen!" I said frantically. That would give me time to think. Black smoke filled the field. "Fire Fang!" I heard the impact of the attack and knew he was successful. "Fire Spin!" The smoke was blown away by the force of the attack. Blastoise had been hit.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Wing Attack!" Alex knocked Blastoise to the ground before it could attack. "Seismic Toss!" Alex picked up the turtle and flew into the air.

"Rapid Spin!"

"Drop it!" I cried. Alex let Blastoise go. Its eyes widened as it headed towards the ground. "Now grab it!" Alex flew back down and caught it. This happened several more times. I could see Blastoise weakening.

"Try to hold on!" Gary called.

"Now, finish the attack!" I called. Alex caught Blastoise one last time and flew up. Blastoise didn't struggle this time. It was too exhausted. Alex spun around in circles. His speed was incredible. They looked like a blue to me. Alex suddenly shot down and threw Blastoise into the ground. Gary blinked in shock.

"Blastoise is unable to battle. Alex wins the match. The victory goes to Rose," Brock announced.

There was a huge grin on my face now. "We did it!" I exclaimed! I ran up to Alex and hugged him. He roared happily. "I'm so proud of you. You did a great job. Why don't you take a rest?" I smiled as he went back inside his Pokeball.

"Congratulations!" Delilah said. She and the others had made their way over to me. "I knew you could do it."

"That was so awesome!" Ash exclaimed before hugging me. "Did you see the look on Gary's face when he lost?" I laughed at his enthusiasm as he spun me around.

"That was very impressive," Brock said with a nod.

"Yeah, good job," Misty added.

I grinned at them. "Thanks, guys!"

"Rose," Gary said. I blinked in surprise as I turned to look at him. He was standing halfway across the field, apparently reluctant about going further. He seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"What do you want, Gary?" Ash growled. He put his arm in front of me protectively.

Gary narrowed his eyes at him. "This has nothing to do with you. I just want to talk to her." He looked back at me and took a few more steps closer. "Come on, Rose. I want to ask you something."

I glanced at Ash, who was glaring daggers at Gary. "It's ok," I said softly. Ash hesitated before stepping back. I walked closer to Gary until I was a foot away from him. "Ok, what is it?"

"You're an impressive trainer," Gary said. I blinked in confusion at his praise. "You have to be, to beat me." I looked at him skeptically. What was he getting at? "I think the circumstances have changed."

I rolled my eyes in frustration. "Out with it already!"

Gary chuckled at my impatience, causing me to roll my eyes again. "Fine. I want us to be friends again." My eyes widened in shock. Was what he was saying even possible? "So, what do you say?" He held out his hand to me in a friendly gesture.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't find my voice. I heard Ash growl behind me. I looked up at Gary's face. He looked genuinely sincere. Then what was holding me back? This was what I wanted, right?

"Don't trust him," Ash said harshly. "He hurt you once, what's stopping him from hurting you again?"

Gary shot him a look. "Stay out of this!" He looked back at me and smiled slightly.

But what Ash said registered in my head. No, this wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was for Gary to change. He hadn't changed a bit. All that changed was his willingness to be my friend. If nothing changed, how could I be sure he wouldn't change his mind about our friendship again? The hard truth was, I couldn't.

I loved Gary for the way he used to be. I know it's possible for him to still act that way, he's shown me, but he still hides it well. He still isn't someone I'd want to hang out with. If I hadn't known him before, I would have said no right away.

I looked behind myself. Ash was glaring at Gary. Delilah looked like this was the most exciting thing she'd seen all month. Typical. Brock looked thoughtful. And Misty looked worried. I glanced back at Gary. He was smirking slightly.

"Rose…" Ash said warningly.

"Shut up, Ashy Boy, and let her decide," Gary snarled.

That did it. I could feel the anger rising in me. "No!" I said firmly.

Gary blinked in surprise. "What?" I heard Ash let out a sigh of relief.

"I said _no_," I repeated through clenched teeth. "You're still just an arrogant jerk. Why would I want to be friends with you?" And with that, I turned and stormed away. Ash was immediately by my side. I didn't push him away. I felt like I had made a serious decision. In a way I had. But now I knew who my real friends were. Gary Oak was not one of them.


	16. Saying Goodbye

Chapter 15: Saying Goodbye

I trained harder than ever that last week. It helped me not to think. I knew I would break down if I let myself linger on recent events. I became an expert on avoiding Gary. I didn't want to have to rethink my decision. I barely saw my friends anymore. Ash hung out with me the most. He seemed to think I had chosen him over Gary. I hated to have to crush his hope, but I knew it was inevitable.

The Pokemon League came and went. I made it to the sixth round before losing. It was over too fast. I travelled back to Pallet Town with my friends once the tournament was over. Now was the time where I was supposed to relax. But I couldn't. I had too much time to think. I tried to take my fire pendent off, but I couldn't pull it off my neck. I couldn't even hide it under my shirt like I did before. It was a permanent part of me now; a constant reminder of what I had lost.

I began to think about the immediate future. I would be entering the Johto region and focusing on being a fire Pokemon trainer, not collecting badges. I would take my three fire Pokemon plus Roxy with me. I would evolve her into a Flareon when I had the chance. In the back of my mind, I knew I had to go it alone this time.

I was in my room packing a few days later. I had my mind made up. I knew the best way to protect myself. I opened my dresser door and took out a photo I had stashed in there years before. In the picture Gary and I were 5-years-old. We were on the back of a Ponyta. I remembered that day clearly. I smiled slightly at the memory.

Professor Oak had hoisted Gary onto the Ponyta. I hesitated as I looked up at my friend. "Won't the flames burn me?" I had asked.

Gary just smiled. "Not if you let it know you mean it no harm. Come on." He held out his hand to me. "Trust me."

I grabbed Gary's hand and scrambled up behind him. I hadn't burned like I thought I would. That turned out to be a fun day.

"What's that?"

I screamed as Alice's voice brought me back to reality. "Don't do that!" I quickly put the photo in my backpack. "And it's none of your business."

Alice frowned as she glanced at my bag. "Are you and Delilah leaving already?"

"No, _I _am leaving," I corrected her,

"Is this about Gary?" Alice asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

I glared at her again. Why would she jump to that conclusion? "No, it's for several reasons. I just need some alone time. Now go tell mom and dad to meet me at the road by Professor Oak's lab in 45 minutes."

"Alright." Alice turned and started walking towards the door. She looked back at me and added, "At least you're not running out on us." She was gone.

I sighed as I zipped up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. It was time to say goodbye to everyone. I decided on Delilah first. She would be the easiest to handle. I would save the hardest for last.

I took a deep breath and knocked on her door. Delilah opened it. She looked very cheerful as usual. "Hi Rose," she said when she saw me. "I was just about to go see you. Do you mind if my cousin joins us in Johto? She's just starting out."

"Good, you found someone else," I said.

Delilah frowned as she noticed my somber expression. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going with you. I'm on my own now. You go with your cousin." My voice cracked as I said the words.

Delilah looked like I slapped her across the face. "W-why?"

I sighed. "It's nothing you did. I just need to be alone right now."

"Is this about Gary?" Delilah asked in the same tone Alice had.

I glared at her. "Why does everyone assume that? Everything isn't about stupid Gary!"

Delilah held her hands up defensively and took a step back. "Sorry." She bit her lip. "What is this about then?"

"Everything," I muttered. I glanced down at the ground.

"When are you leaving?" Delilah asked quietly. When I looked up I saw her sad expression. I was sure my own matched hers.

"Today," I whispered. I let out another sigh. "I'm telling everyone to meet me on the road at 10. I'm talking to Ash next. I have to tell him something I should have told him from the beginning. He deserves to know the truth."

"And what about Gary?" Delilah asked. "I was talking with him. He's really confused on why you rejected him like that. Are you just going to leave him in the dust?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. I'm going to explain my reasoning and then leave."

Delilah didn't look satisfied at this answer. "I really think you should talk _with_ him. You can work this out."

"He insults my friends," I said. "He's not the kind of friend I want."

"Did you ever think that maybe you're the type of friends he needs?"

I hesitated. Could she be right? I shook my head. "Stop it, Delilah. I need to take care of myself first." I turned and walked a few steps before stopping, my arms folded.

I heard Delilah walk up beside me. "Rose, he loves you."

I flinched at this. I wanted so much for it to be true. But past experience told me it wasn't. I dropped my arms. "He told me that once before," I said in a steady voice. "If he didn't mean it then, why would he mean it now?"

"Oh, he didn't tell me," Delilah said. "He didn't have to."

"Delilah, I have to go," I said before I had time to dwell on that. I couldn't let her change my mind. I started walking away. Delilah's voice stopped me.

"_You _love _him_."

I didn't even think about denying it. I looked back at my friend. I was fighting tears as I said, "That doesn't matter. It never did."

Delilah furrowed her brow angrily. "How can you do that? How can you look at someone and realize you're _made for each other _and just-"

"Real life doesn't work that way," I said, cutting her off. "There aren't always happy endings. Love isn't always enough."

Delilah continued to glare at me, but I could tell she had given up. "Fine, go then. You're the one who has to live with the consequences."

I turned and left without another word. I had to do this. Maybe after awhile I could come back and try to talk things out with Gary. And if he's not willing to listen them, it will prove my original point. I just couldn't risk getting hurt again.

I found Ash and his friends talking in front of his house. Ash flashed me a smile when he saw me. "Hey Rose."

"Is something wrong?" Misty asked, picking up on my mood.

"I have to talk to Ash," I said bluntly.

Ash blinked. "Ok."

I led him around to the back of the house. I turned to face him. "I'm leaving." No use beating around the bush.

Ash looked confused. "Ok…" he said slowly. "Why couldn't you say that back there?"

I sighed. He didn't get it. "_I'm _leaving, Ash. On my own. Without Delilah or anyone else."

Ash frowned as my words hit him. "Why?"

"Too much has been going on that I can't handle," I explained. "I need time alone to think about things."

"Come on, I can help you work this out. If Gary's the problem, I'll-"

"No," I said firmly. "I've already made my decision. There's nothing you can do to help. Besides, you're part of the problem."

Ash blinked in confusion. "Wha? What'd I do?"

I let out another sigh. "It's not really anything you did. You see-" I took a deep breath. Here was the hard part. "I-I know you have feelings for me. And I just don't feel the same."

Ash glanced at the ground. The shadow from the brim of his hat hid his face from me. "Oh," he said simply. "I don't care."

I bit my lip. I knew too well this was a lie. I took a step and reached my hand out toward him. "Ash-"

"I said I'm fine!" Ash snapped, turning his back to me.

I sighed. I hated hurting him like this. "Tell the others to meet me at the road at 10," I murmured.

"Just go," Ash said coldly before he took off running.

I didn't have time to think about my friend's pain. I had my own to worry about. I forced my feet to move to the last place I needed to go. I dreaded what I had to do next. My heart was hammering hard against my chest.

My hand was shaking as I lifted it up to knock on the lab door. I was a bit relieved when Professor Oak answered it. I had a few seconds of delay.

"Why, hello Rose," Professor Oak said in a surprised tone. "I haven't seen you here for awhile."

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Is Gary here?"

"I'm right here."

I sucked in a sharp breath, startled as Gary appeared behind his grandfather. My uneasiness returned. At that moment I hated him. I hated him for changing. I hated him for not being my best friend. I hated him for making me feel this way. I hated him for making me have to hurt him. But most of all, I hated myself for loving him.

"We have to talk," Gary said in a steady voice. He looked very weary. This was unusual.

I nodded once. "That's why I'm here."

Professor Oak had an understanding look on his face. He stepped aside to let me walk in. My heart thudded as I followed Gary, first inside, and then out into a field. He stopped, turned, and looked at me. He was silent.

I gulped when I realized he was waiting for _me_ to speak. "So, I heard you talked to Delilah," I said awkwardly.

"I wouldn't get to you directly, now could I?" Gary asked sarcastically.

I sighed. He was mad. "Why do you care so much about talking to me?"

"Because I-" He stopped in midsentence and said instead, "I don't know."

He couldn't even say he loved me. He couldn't even say the one thing that could make me stay. His pride was still getting in the way. The only way he could change my mind would be to overcome that and admit that he was just as much in love with me as I was with him. That was the only loophole I could find. It was now my goal.

Gary suddenly glared at me. "Why'd you run off anyway? Is this your idea of revenge for me leaving you?"

I clenched my teeth together. "No," I said, trying hard to keep my breathing steady. "Do you honestly expect us to just continue on like nothing happened?"

"Uh, yes?" Gary asked with uncertainty.

"Well, we can't," I declared. "Do you know how much you've hurt me; how much pain I've been in for the past few years because of you? That's not something that's going to go away just because you want it to. I mean, you didn't even apologize."

"Fine, I'm sorry. But you know why I had to do it," Gary said. "You know the circumstances."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not an apology. And it proves my point. You don't even know what you did wrong. How do I know you won't do it again? If you haven't really changed, one day you could just decide you don't want to be friends anymore. That would break me." I swallowed, holding back tears. "I can't risk getting hurt worse than I am now. I need to protect myself. You're poison to me. How do I know you won't hurt me again?" I trailed off, unable to say anymore.

I closed my eyes and bent my head down. It was a few minutes before I heard Gary's response.

"You're right," he said softly. I looked up in surprise. He had a pained expression on his face. "I don't deserve your trust," he went on. "You're right in rejecting me."

I bit my lip. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to give in. I wanted him to kiss me or tell me he loved me. But I didn't want him to give up. "I'm leaving," I said, barely above a whisper.

"When?" was all Gary asked.

"Right now," I said reluctantly. So, this was it. I was really leaving. He had failed the test. "You can walk with me to the road if you want."

Gary nodded. Neither of us spoke as we walked around to the front of the lab. This was it. I was really leaving. It felt like each step I took was taking me closer to my doom. Was this really the right choice? Either way, it was too late to back out now.

Everyone was lined up on the road when we got there. On the opposite end was my family. My parents looked worried. Alice was just sad. Next were Brock, Misty, and Ash. The first too also looked worried. Ash was avoiding eye contact with anyone. He was obviously still upset. Standing next to him was Delilah. She looked at me disapprovingly. Professor Oak was at the end. He looked thoughtful. Gary went to stand by him.

I took a deep breather before starting towards my family. I stopped in front of him. "Mom, Dad. This is something I have to do."

My father nodded once. "We won't stop you. We trust your judgment."

My mom bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

I sighed. "Yes. I don't see any other way." I hugged each of them. And then I looked down at Alice. "See you later, squirt."

Alice smiled half-heartedly. "Bye, Rose."

I took a step to the left. "It was nice spending some time with you guys. Maybe we'll meet again in the future."

Misty smiled and nodded. "That would be nice."

"Good luck on becoming a fire Pokemon trainer," Brock said.

I smiled slightly. "Thanks." I turned to Ash. He was looking anywhere but at me. "Look, I'm sorry for the way things turned out. I just wanted to let you know that you're one of the best friends I've ever had. Thanks for being there for me when I needed you." Ash made a noise that sounded like a grunt. I sighed. What else did I expect?

I took another step. "Hey Delilah."

Delilah frowned. "Do you really have to go?"

I nodded. "Maybe we can travel together again once I figure things out. Everything is just too complicated right now."

Delilah let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I'll understand. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." I leaned in and hugged her. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

I walked up to Professor Oak. "Thanks for all you've done for me, Professor. I really appreciate it."

Professor Oak smiled warmly at me. "It was my pleasure, Rose. Good luck."

I nodded. "Thanks." I took another deep breath before stepping up to Gary. He too was looking at the ground. "I'm sorry to you too. I'd do anything to change the way things turned out. Everything got messed up." I clutched the fire pendent at my chest. Gary finally looked up at me, holding a steady gaze. "Goodbye, Gary. I will always remember what we once had and what almost was."

"Rose," Gary said softly. "I-" He gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow. "Never mind."

I sighed. He couldn't say it, even now. I took several steps back to address the whole group. "Bye, everyone. I love you all."

I took out a Pokeball and pressed the button. Alex appeared with a roar. I smiled slightly as I walked up to him. "We're leaving now, Alex," I said. "Just you and I." I scrambled onto his back. I looked back at everyone one more time before Alex leaped up into the air and started flying. I glanced down until I could see them no more. I was really gone.


End file.
